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THE) 



WELLS OF SALVATION, 

AND OTHER SERMONS. 
H Souvenir 



OF SIX gEARS' LABOR IN THE PRESIDING 
ELDERSHIP. 



BY 



C. W. WINCHESTER, A.M., D. D., 

Author of "The Gospel Kodak Abroad." 
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 

DR. DANIEL STEELE. 



t 



CINCINNATI : CURTS & JENNINGS. 

NEW YORK : EATON & MAINS. 

1897. 



3 fa 



SECOND COPY, 



51661 



COPYRIGHTED, 1 897, 

By C. W. WINCHESTER. 



PREFACE, 



CORNING District, Genesee Conference, be- 
came the author's field of labor, by appoint- 
ment of Bishop B. G. Andrews, October 6, 1891. 
This volume is made up wholly of sermons 
preached on that district. With one exception, 
they were delivered without any thought that 
they would ever be put in print, and are now 
published almost exactly as they were spoken. 
The exception is " The Tenth for God." That 
was printed in tract form before it was delivered 
at all; it was preached to thirty-four different 
congregations; three thousand copies were dis- 
tributed gratuitously throughout the district; 
Bishop C. C. McCabe (then Missionary Sec- 
retary) sent a copy to every presiding elder in 
the Methodist Episcopal Church; and it was re- 
published in The Gospel in All Lands. While 
these sermons were all preached in the course of 
the author's district labors, they are but a small 
fraction of the entire number thus delivered. But 
why another book of sermons ; and sermons, too, 
by an obscure preacher? What does the literary 

3 



4 Preface. 

or religious world care for the sermons of the 
presiding elder of Corning District? Nothing. 
These sermons are not published for the benefit 
of the world, but for Corning District. They 
are published at the suggestion and request of 
many persons, whose judgment is worthy of the 
highest respect. Long reflection and earnest 
prayer, on the part of the author, have solidified 
an early impression into a deep conviction that, 
at the end of his term on the district, he ought 
to leave this souvenir of many glorious quarterly- 
meetings, to keep the truth alive in the hearts of 
the people and to confirm them "in holding fast 
that whereunto they have attained." He does not 
put these discourses into a book because he thinks 
their literary merit entitles them to preservation, 
but because he humbly believes that God has 
used them for the good of souls, and will continue 
so to use them. A large proportion of the ser- 
mons are upon what is popularly called "The 
Higher Life" because that has been the great 
theme on Corning District the last six years, and 
because it is believed that that is the truth which 
the people most desire and most need. If the 
book wanders beyond the bounds of Corning Dis- 
trict, the author hopes and prays and believes that 
it will benefit all who condescend to give it a pe- 



Preface. 5 

rusal. He begs that all readers will overlook the 
literary faults arid weakness of the book, and think 
of nothing but the truth which it may contain. 

Having said so much about the book, the 
author can not forbear leaving on record a few 
words about the district which is so dear to his 
heart, and which will always be a fragrance in his 
memory. 

Corning District covers an area of nineteen 
hundred and sixty square miles, including fifty 
townships, two cities and sixteen incorporated 
villages. It embraces most of Steuben County, 
New York, about half of Tioga County, Pennsyl- 
vania, and small patches of Allegheny and Ontario 
Counties in the former State, and of Potter County 
in the latter. The capital and railroad center of 
the district is the city whose name it bears. You 
may take your right hand to represent Corning 
district. Your thumb is the Delaware, Lacka- 
wanna and Western Railroad ; the forefinger is 
the Rochester Branch of the Erie; the middle 
finger is the main line of the Erie; the fourth 
finger is the Addison and Pennsylvania, connect- 
ing with Corning by the Erie at Addison; and 
the little finger is the Fall Brook, with its various 
branches. Without leaving the hand, you can 
travel forty miles on the thumb, thirty-nine on 



6 Preface. 

the first finger, fifty on trie middle finger, forty-six 
on the fourth finger, and eighty-five on the little 
finger. Branching out from the first finger are 
two extra digits, called, respectively, the Kanona 
and Prattsburg, and the Bath and Hammonds- 
port Railroads, the former twelve miles long and 
the latter eight. The middle finger has a branch 
digit, called the New York and Pennsylvania Rail- 
road, fifteen miles of whose line, from Canisteo to 
Rexville, are within the bounds of Corning Dis- 
trict. The little finger has a very convenient ex- 
crescence, called the Buffalo and Susquehanna, 
running thirteen miles of its length through our 
territory. Adding together all these figures, we 
find that there are three hundred and eight miles 
of railroad within the limits of the district. Of 
its forty-nine pastoral charges, thirty-four have 
their headquarters on the iron roads; and of its 
one hundred and thirteen regular Sunday-preach- 
ing places, forty-eight can be reached by rail. One 
charge, Pulteney, is reached by a most delightful 
steamboat ride of ten miles on the far-famed 
Keuka, one of the most lovely lakes on the globe, 
whose sloping banks are covered with fifteen 
thousand acres of as fine vineyards as the sun 
ever looks upon between the oceans. 

On the territory covered by Corning District, 



Preface. 7 

Methodism is the great religious force. It has 
113 congregations, 91 church edifices, 43 parson- 
ages and (when the last returns were made) 9,064 
members and probationers. All other Protestant 
denominations combined have in the same terri- 
troy, 116 congregations, 104 church edifices, and 
about ten thousand members. One township in 
the district — Bath — has six Methodist Episcopal 
Church edifices, belonging to four different pas- 
toral charges. 

The labors of the presiding elder of Corning 
District are very arduous. The present incum- 
bent has traveled* 25,300 miles by rail; 220 by 
steamboat; and 8,740 behind horses — a total of 
34,260 miles. He has preached, in his district- 
work, 1,278 sermons, in in different places, and 
delivered 80 lectures and addresses. One lecture, 
"The Eight Wonders of the World," has been de- 
livered at 46 different places in the district, in 
most cases with no financial benefit to the lec- 
turer. He has presided in 1,085 Quarterly Con- 
ferences. 

In all his journeying to and fro he has not, in 
a single instance, used any public conveyance on 
the Lord's-day. 



* The figures in this paragraph are strictly accurate for five 
years and a half; for the last half-year they are very carefully 
estimated. 



8 Preface. 

In the six years, eighty-seven different pastors 
have labored on Corning District. They have not 
toiled in vain. The six years have witnessed the 
following gains: In nnmber of charges, six; in 
salaries allowed the pastors, $2,400; in number of 
church edifices, six; in number of parsonages, four ; 
in value of churches, $55,500; in value of parson- 
ages, $9, 200; in number of members in full con- 
nection 1,500. More than 6,000 persons have 
been received on probation during the six years; 
and 3,300 adults, and 8,000 children, have received 
baptism. That the Genesee Conference Minutes 
do not show a larger increase in full numbers in 
Corning District is due to several causes: (1) A 
thorough pruning of the Church records on most 
of the charges; (2) Losses by death and removal; 
(3) Lack of thoroughness in revival work; and (4) 
Failure of converts to "go on unto perfection.' y 

For what has been accomplished, we give all 
the glory to God. 

CHARLES WESLEY WINCHESTER. 

No. 267 Chemung Street, Corning, N. Y. 



INTRODUCTION 



TT is one of the favorable signs of the times that 
evangelical sermons in book-form find so wide cir- 
culation in our country. It betokens not only an 
elevation and refinement of literary taste in the laity, 
and an increasing interest in Christian truth, but also 
that the pulpit is steadily advancing in influence over 
cultivated minds. We hope the time will soon come 
when John Foster's essay "on some of the causes 
by which evangelical religion has been rendered un- 
acceptable to persons of cultivated taste," will be en- 
tirely irrelevant. The ministry of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church should contribute to hasten- the coming 
of this new religious era by supplying the public with 
religious reading of a tone so high as to dissipate the 
prejudice in men of taste against Christianity, arising 
from its association with a great number of its pro- 
fessors whose minds are weak and uncultivated. To 
the question, why this Church has not in the past 
supplied its proportion of this species of literature 
according to the number and talent of its preachers, 
several answers may be given. One characteristic 
excellence of their preaching has been the aim at 
immediate results. Hence their pulpit preparations 
for extemporaneous address, in their literary form, if 

9 



io Introduction. 

written at all, have been synoptical and fragmentary, 
ghastly skeletons, to be closeted rather than exposed 
to public view. Again, through fear of contracting 
the evil habit of sermon reading in the pulpit — dis- 
pleasing to the audience and lessening the preacher's 
power — elaborate sermon writing was not much en- 
couraged by our denominational fathers. Our peculiar 
ecclesiastical polity favoring the repetition of the best 
pulpit productions, the preacher has been inclined to 
withhold these from the press till he should be laid 
aside from the active duties of the sacred office. But 
in old age the sight is too dim to decipher the abbrevi- 
ations of the youthful pen in its eager haste to keep 
pace with the rushing stream of thought. The admin- 
istrator of the dead preacher's estate orders the manu- 
script sermons to be sold by the pound to the rag-man, 
or to be thrust into the furnace. Thus many of our 
most gifted preachers are passing away, leaving as 
their only literary monument a Thanksgiving or 
Fourth of July sermon, in the perishable form of a 
pamphlet, or the still more ephemeral newspaper. 
Dr. Winchester has very wisely become his own lit- 
erary executor, by causing some of his best pulpit 
utterances to crystallize into the solid and enduring 
form of a book. Thus, with the apostle Peter, he 
says to the young of his generation, and to all the 
generations to come, "I will endeavor that ye may be 
able after my decease to have these things always in 
remembrance." To the "Wells of Salvation" he in- 



Introduction. i t 

vites all men to come and drink. He is not afraid 
that he will impoverish himself by this public invita- 
tion. He is confident that he can draw more water 
from the same wells to carry to his thirsty hearers 
during his future public ministry. In this particular, 
I have good reason for saying that he does not mis- 
judge himself. From an association with him during 
four years in a college recitation-room, in the rela- 
tion of teacher and pupil, I discovered that he was 
not only a thorough scholar, but that he had the 
greatest of all intellectual gifts, styled by Dr. Bush- 
nell "the talent of growth." 

We are especially pleased with this book because 
of its thorough doctrinal orthodoxy, accentuating the 
neglected Wesleyan tenet of Christian perfection, or 
the deliverance of the believer from sin, actual and 
original, in the present life, through the agency of the 
Holy Spirit, secured by the mediation of the Son of 
God. Doctrines promotive of advanced Christian ex- 
perience must be inculcated if we, as a Church, are to 
be characterized in the future, as we have been in the 
past, as eminently spiritual and aggressive. These 
Scriptural truths, faithfully proclaimed, constitute the 
only dike which can resist the tides of worldliness 
which are setting so strongly against the Church of 
Christ and threatening her submersion. We con- 
gratulate the preachers and societies of Corning Dis- 
trict on the fact that such a dike has been around 
them during the term of the presiding elder, which 



1 2 Introd uction. 

ends in 1897. We commend the episcopal wisdom 
which appoints to this subepiscopal office men of 
eminent spirituality, who will proclaim in every pulpit 
doctrines inspiring and fostering the deepest spirit- 
uality and practical godliness. The conservation of 
Wesleyan theology in the faith of the Church largely 
depends on such appointments to this office. We trust 
that other presiding elders, following Dr. Winchester's 
example, will leave behind them monuments of their 
faithfulness to revealed truth in volumes of sermons 
as "Wells of Salvation" for the refreshment of be- 
lievers. 

I deem it an honor to connect my name with this 
book in the humble office of a porter, who opens for 
the Christian public the gate to a fountain of pure 
water. Daniel Steele. 



CONTENTS. 



I. 

PAGE. 

The Wells of Salvation, 15 

II. 
Belshazzar's Feast, 32 

III. 

NAAMAN THE IyEPER, * o . . 50 

IV. 

The Crucifixion, „ „ . . 67 

V. 
The Cleansing Blood, 85 

VI. 
The Second Blessing, 103 

VII. 
The Baptism of the Holy Ghost, 125 

VIII. 
Receiving the Holy Ghost, ■. . 147 

IX. 
The Fullness of the Spirit, 165 

X. 
Full Salvation, 185 

13 



14 Contents. \ 

XI. 

PAGE. 

Seven Great Words, .202 

XII. 
Christian Perfection, 219 

XIII. 
Entire Sanctieication, 238 

XIV. 
David's Double Prayer, 255 

XV. 
Peter in Prison, 271 

XVI. 
The Fiery Furnace, . 289 

XVII. 
Daniee in the Lion's Den, 306 

XVIII. 
The Tenth for God, 322 



The Wells of Salvation. 



i. 

THE WELLS OP SALVATION. 

" Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells 
of salvation."— Isaiah xii, 3. 

THE Bible is a picture-gallery of vast extent. It 
was built by God the Father. Its foundations 
were laid and a portion of its superstructure reared 
more than four thousand years ago. The head-stone 
was brought forth and lifted into its place nearly 
eighteen hundred years ago. The building is divided 
into two sections, called the Old and the New Testa- 
ments. Each section consists of many halls or rooms — 
some large, others of less extent. In all, the rooms 
are sixty-six in number. Each room, with what it 
contains, is worth more than all the mansions and 
palaces and castles and temples ever built since the 
world was made. The walls of all the rooms in this 
famous and ancient gallery are hung with pictures 
of transcendent richness and beauty. The choicest 
treasures of London, of Paris, of Dresden, of Florence, 
and of Rome, pale into insignificance when compared 
with the pictures with which our Bible is filled. The 
artist who painted them is God the Son. He was the 
Master Painter. Other artists, who worked with him J 

IS 



1 6 The Wells of Salvation. 

under his constant supervision and control, were 
Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Mat- 
thew, Luke, John, Paul, and many more. The gallery 
is open at all hours of the day, and every day in the 
week. All may enter free of charge, and remain as 
long as they choose. The beggar in his rags as well 
as the king in his royal robes, the pauper as well as 
the merchant prince, the barbarian as well as the 
philosopher, may wander through these gorgeous 
halls, feasting their eyes upon beauties at which 
"angels desire to look," and feel that the whole is 
theirs. 

A person equal in wisdom and power to Him who 
built the gallery and to Him who painted the pictures, 
stands ready to serve as Guide to every visitor who 
enters the place. God the Holy Ghost will lead us 
through every department and room, and show us 
every picture from the beginning to the end. The 
Holy Ghost promises to "guide into all truth" all 
those who carefully and prayerfully search and study 
the Word of God. 

This morning I invite you to go with me into that 
room in God's great art gallery which bears the 
name "Isaiah," and study one of the many pictures 
which hang upon its walls. Let us ask the Divine 
Spirit to go with us, and explain what we see. The 
gilded frame which holds the painting is our text: 
"With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of 
salvation." 

What do you see on the canvas within the frame- 
work of these words? I see a large and beautiful city, 
built on a rocky eminence in the midst of a vast and 
fertile plain. Lofty walls, strengthened by many but- 
tresses, and adorned and guarded by many gateways 



The Wells of Salvation. 17 

and towers, surround the place. Over the summit 
of the highest tower, which seems to touch the sky, 
floats a snow-white banner, emblazoned with a crim- 
son cross. Under the walls, at the base of the rock 
on which the city stands, I see a group of wells. The 
number I can not tell. They are surrounded and 
shaded by a cluster of graceful and gigantic palms. 
In the distance, partially hidden by a cloud of dust, 
I see the rear guard of a retreating and routed army, 
by which the city was lately surrounded and besieged. 
The siege was long and distressful. The enemy 
planted their engines of war between the city and the 
wells. The people had no water to drink. Thou- 
sands died of thirst. All homes and hearts were filled 
with anguish, when suddenly their absent King ap- 
peared, scattered the frightened foe, brought salvation 
to his joyful citizens, and entered his capital in tri- 
umph. Seated on his throne, he issued a royal decree, 
and sent his heralds to publish it through the streets: 
"With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of sal- 
vation!" The people hear the joyful sound. The gates 
are thrown wide open. With music and laughter 
and shouting, I see them crowding around the wells 
and drawing up the liquid life in overflowing buckets. 
All ranks, all races, all conditions, all ages, rejoice and 
drink, and drink and rejoice, and praise their gracious 
King who dug the wells, and made their waters secure 
and free. 

That is a symbolic and a prophetic picture. 
Painted seven hundred years before, it was designed 
to foretell the spiritual blessings which should result 
from Christ's victory over sin, death, and hell. It 
delineates the blessings which are ours, who live in 
this dispensation — the dispensation of the Holy 



1 8 The Wells of Salvation. 

Ghost. The picture is symbolic. The city represents 
the Church of God on earth; the water which the 
wells of salvation yield is a symbol of the Christian 
religion. 

This is not the only place in God's Word where 
the benefits which flow from true religion are com- 
pared to water. In this same Book of Isaiah we read : 
"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters!" 
These waters mean religion. The prophet Ezekiel 
had a vision, in which he seemed to be standing near 
the door of the Holy Place in the temple of God; 
"and, behold, waters issued out from under the thresh- 
old of the house eastward," and they became "a river 
that" he "could not pass over." That river of water 
represents religion. The psalmist says: "The Lord 
is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to 
lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the 
still waters." These waters mean religion. To the 
Samaritan woman whom he met at the well, Jesus 
said: "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst 
again. But whosoever drinketh of the water that 
I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that 
I shall give him shall be in him a well of water spring- 
ing up into everlasting life." By water the Great 
Teacher means the religion of which he was the 
Author and Center. On the seventh and last day of 
the Feast of Tabernacles, while the high priest was 
pouring water, brought from the sacred Pool of Siloam, 
out of a golden pitcher upon the grand altar in the 
temple, Jesus stood and cried, saying: "If any man 
thirst let him come unto me and drink. He that be- 
lieveth on me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of 
living water." Christ had the blessedness of religion 
in mind when he used those remarkable words. In 



The Wells of Salvation. 19 

his vision of the heavenly world, granted him for his 
sake and ours when in exile on Patmos, John saw 
"a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceed- 
ing out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." It 
flowed along the middle of the principal street of the 
city, and was bordered with two rows of trees, which 
yielded twelve kinds of fruit. What is that river of 
water of life but the Christian religion, by which souls 
are borne to heaven, and which souls will enjoy eter- 
nally in heaven? In the last verse in the Bible but 
four we hear a blessed invitation to thirsty, dying 
souls: "The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let 
him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is 
athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the 
water of life freely." The religion of Jesus Christ 
is the water of life. The Christian religion is like water 
in many respects. I will mention four. 

First, Religion is like water because it is pure. Water 
is pure. I do not mean the water which fills the hol- 
lows in our streets after a shower. That might aptly 
represent the religion of the Hindoos. I do not mean 
the water which lies stagnant and scummy in the 
fever-breeding swamp. That might represent the re- 
ligion of China. I do not mean the bitter, blistering 
brine which fills the sea which rolls where once the 
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah stood. That might 
represent the corrupt and rotten religion of apostate 
Rome. I mean the water which bubbles up in the 
bottom of the well, drawn from the severed arteries 
and veins of mother earth, buried below the reach of 
pollution and taint. The purity of such water rep- 
resents the purity of the true Christian faith. 

Fill your pitcher at the well, under the overarching 
trees, out of the "old oaken bucket." How pure the 



2o The Wells of Salvation. 

water looks as it leaps out of the bucket into the 
pitcher! How pure it looks when you have filled your 
glass, and raise it to your lips to drink! Hold the 
goblet up between your eyes and the sun. Can you 
detect any trace of impurity in the sparkling fluid? 
No! The intensest light the all-beholding sun can 
give fails to reveal a single speck. Pluck a blade of 
grass. On its emerald point take a pearly drop out 
of the brimming glass. Hold that single drop, un- 
protected, where the furious king of day can pierce 
it through and through with his flaming arrows. It 
quivers and sparkles and glows with all the rainbow's 
hues; but it reveals no sign or shade of pollution. 
Put the same drop in the focus of the most powerful 
microscope ever constructed, an instrument under 
which a speck of dust looks like a mass of rock, a 
hair like a huge cable, the wing of a fly like the sail 
of a ship, and the skin on your hand like the hide of 
a rhinoceros. What do you see? Nothing but water. 
The drop seems much larger than before, but no less 
pure. 

A drop taken from that vase of flowers, or from the 
puddle in the street, would be found, under the micro- 
scope, to contain hundreds and thousands of living 
things swimming in what, to them, seems like a large- 
sized lake. Looking through the microscope at a 
drop from the well, you find it perfectly empty and 
perfectly pure. 

So it is with true Christianity. Expose it to the 
most intense light. Subject it to the severest and 
most prolonged investigation. Study it through the 
most learned and critical eyes. It does not reveal a 
single speck. It is perfectly pure. I speak now of 



The Wells of Salvation. 21 

the real Christianity, contained in and revealed by 
the Bible. I dare to declare, in the hearing of all the 
ages and all the nations, that the religion of the Bible 
is perfectly pure. 

There are many systems of religion called Chris- 
tianity which are as full of corruption as swamp water 
is of animalcules. They carry miasm and death wher- 
ever they flow. I ask you to distinguish between the 
false and the true. I ask you to turn away from the 
mud-puddle and swamp and ocean-brine, and drink 
your fill of the pure, sparkling water of the "wells of 
salvation." 

Infidelity has toiled for centuries, day and night, 
using the severest tests and the most powerful micro- 
scopes, trying to find something impure in the Chris- 
tian religion. With all the help that Satan could give, 
and all the agencies and instruments which hell could 
furnish, they have utterly failed in their attempt. You 
will certainly fail if you attempt the same impossibility. 
You can find specks in the character of the best Chris- 
tian you ever knew. You can not find a speck in 
Christianity. You can find impurities in Romanism 
and Lutheranism and Calvinism and Presbyterianism 
and Baptistism and Methodism, and all the other isms ; 
but you can not find the slightest shade of impurity 
in Christianity. 

Men, calling themselves Christians, have covered 
themselves with infamy. But there is no infamy in 
Christianity. The most monstrous crimes have been 
committed in the name of Christianity. But Chris- 
tianity is not a crime. The most loathsome vices have 
sought to defend themselves behind Christianity. But 
Christianity does not defend vice. The religion of the 



22 The Wells of Salvation. 

Bible is perfectly pure, like the water of the purest 
well. You can drink your fill with perfect safety. It 
is just what your thirsty soul requires. 

Second, Religion is like water because it has the 
power to purify. Being pure itself, it makes other 
things pure. In the every-day affairs of life, water is 
the universal agent for cleansing everything which 
needs to be cleansed., With water we wash our bodies. 
With water we wash our clothing. With water we 
wash our food. With water we wash the dishes in 
which our food is cooked and from wmich we eat. 
With water we wash our houses. With water nature 
washes the air, the trees, the grass, the streets, and 
the entire face of the earth. If God had not given us 
water for cleansing, universal filth would long ago 
have choked all the streams of life, and made the earth 
an uninhabitable waste. 

What water is to the physical world, as a cleansing 
agent, Christianity is to the moral and spiritual world. 
Society and the human heart are full of pollution and 
filth. There is no way in which they can be cleansed 
but by the sanctifying power of the gospel of Jesus 
Christ. Art w T ill not cleanse human hearts or human 
society. Science will not. Intellectual refinement will 
not. The diffusion of wealth will not. What men call 
civilization will not. But the religion of the cross of 
Calvary will. 

You may make a man, or a community of men, 
as wealthy as Croesus, as learned as the best scholars 
of Germany, as refined as the son of an emperor, and 
as polite as a Parisian belle, and he will still be im- 
pure. But take him to the "wells of salvation," and 
let him bathe in the water of life, and, though he were 



The Wells of Salvation. 23 

the vilest wretch that ever disgraced the name of man, 
he will become as white as snow. 

The religion of the Bible is perfectly pure, and it 
has the power to make all who truly embrace it per- 
fectly pure. If all men were Bible Christians, earth 
would be the anteroom of heaven. He who dug the 
"wells of salvation," he who is the author of our holy 
Christianity, desires to cleanse the whole world, and 
make it what it was before the fall; for I hear him 
saying to every human being, in his Word: "I will 
sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; 
from all your filthiness and all your idols will I cleanse 
you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new 
spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the 
stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart 
of flesh." 

The water of the wells of salvation will cleanse 
society, as well as individuals. It will wash away all 
the filth of the world. This world is like the stables 
of Augeus. Augeus was king of ancient Elis. He 
owned immense herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. 
His stables had not been cleaned for very many years. 
Men said they never could be cleaned. The hero 
Hercules was commanded to perform the work. He 
saw at once that the task was too great for shovel and 
pick and human strength. So he dug a canal, so as 
to unite two rivers, and pour their commingled floods 
through the stables. Thus they were thoroughly 
cleansed in the space of a few hours. 

The waters which flow from the "wells of salva- 
tion" unite to form a mighty river. Ezekiel saw that 
river in his vision, and said: "It shall come to pass 
that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whither- 



24 The Wells of Salvatlon. 

soever the river shall come, shall live : for they shall be 
healed; and every thing shall live whither the river 
cometh." The Church of God is at work, trying to 
turn this river so that it shall flow through every 
nation and city and tribe and family, and cover the 
whole globe with its healing waves. It will wash 
away all rum-shops, all brothels, all gambling-dens, 
all jails, all prisons, all thrones of oppression, all un- 
just laws, all unholy customs, all caste, all super- 
stition, all bigotry, all idolatry, all hate, all lust, all 
crime, and make this sin-cursed earth smile and bud 
and blossom like the garden of the Lord. The world 
is an Augean stable. If you think that is too strong 
a word, study the politics of this and other nations; 
estimate the number and magnitude of the evils of 
intemperance; read the records of the dark and bloody 
crimes which are committed every night; hear the 
stories of private vice which come to your ears on 
the breath of every wind; listen to the hoarse murmurs 
of the communistic mob, gathering in the distance to 
sweep away all the institutions of civilization and 
to draw society back into barbarism. Look, listen, 
reflect, and tell me if the world is not like the stables 
of Augeus. How can it be cleansed? In no way but 
by the power of the religion of Christ. In no way but 
by deluging it with the waters which flow from the 
"wells of salvation." 

Third, Religion is like water because it refreshes and 
revives. See that deer pursued by the hunters and 
the dogs. They have chased him over many miles 
of plain and rocks and thickets. He has almost lost 
the power to flee. His eyes glare like balls of fire. 
His hot breath comes in puffs and gasps. His swollen 



The Wells of Salvation. 25 

tongue hangs from his foam-dripping mouth. His 
heaving flanks are covered with sweat and dust. The 
baying hounds are close upon his heels. He will soon 
be the prey of their cruel teeth. But, hark! What is 
that sound which I hear above the uproar of the chase? 
It is the murmur of flowing waters. Behind that 
clump of trees I see a pool, into which leaps a foaming 
cascade from the mountain side. The hunted deer 
saw it first. He reaches the margin of the pool. He 
plunges in. For a moment he is hidden from the eyes 
of the dogs. He bathes. He drinks. He swims. He 
emerges on the other side. He seems like a new 
creature. The dust, the sweat, the foam, the fever, the 
glare, the weakness, are gone. Revived, refreshed, 
invigorated, he shakes the dripping water from his 
flanks, bounds up the mountain steep, and hides him- 
self in the safe pastures on the other side. 

I see a desert tract. The earth is covered with 
sand, as hot as if scorched in an oven. Through the 
sand a few stunted shrubs have pushed their way. 
Under one of the shrubs lies a child almost dead. A 
few paces off, sitting on the ground, with her back to 
the child and her face in her hands, is a woman, the 
mother of the dying boy. By her side is an empty 
bottle, from which the last drop of water has gone. 
She is sitting thus that she may not see the death- 
agonies of her child. In her despair she weeps aloud. 
God sees and hears from his throne on high. A hand 
appears, pointing her to a well not far away. She goes 
with joyful haste, and fills the empty bottle. Return- 
ing, she bathes the lips of the unconscious child. He 
revives. He drinks. He opens his eyes. He springs 
to his feet. His former energy and fire come back. 



26 The Wells of Salvation. 

He goes forth into the perils of the desert. Ishmael 
becomes a great nation, whose power is felt in the East 
to-day. 

Did you ever come out from under the torrid glare 
of the noontide sun, hot, weary, thirsty, fainting, 
breathless, into the shade of the trees which bend 
above the moss-grown well-curb, and drink long 
draughts of sweetest nectar fresh from the frigid 
depths? If you have, you know how water refreshes 
and revives. 

What water is to the body, in this respect, the 
Christian religion is to the soul. The soul, as well 
as the body, becomes weary and breathless, and sinks 
down, fainting by the way. As heat and toil and 
thirst exhaust the body, so trials and temptations 
and disappointments and afflictions exhaust the soul. 
There is only one thing in the universe which can re- 
vive and refresh a weary soul. That one thing is the 
religion of Jesus Christ. 

Are you weary? Have you met with nothing but 
disappointments since you set out on the journey of 
life? Are you beset with temptations? Are your 
trials many and great? Have sorrows settled down 
upon you like a fog? Does everything seem to go 
wrong? Are you utterly disheartened and discour- 
aged? Lift up your fainting head! Behold the "wells 
of salvation !" Listen to the invitations of the gospel ! 
Hear the blessed Savior's words: "Come unto me all 
ye that are weary!" Hear the Spirit's call: "Let him 
that is athirst come!" Go! Drink of the water of life 
freely, and your soul will be filled with life and fresh- 
ness and courage and vigor and joy. 

If you and I and all men would embrace the re- 
ligion of the Bible in its fullness, there would be no 



The Wells of Salvation. 27 

weary, discouraged, fainting souls; exhilaration and 
hope would fill every heart, and the whole world 
would sing for joy. Say, why do we languish and 
pine, when the "wells of salvation" are so near? 

Fourth, The Christian religion is like water because 
it is indispensable to the life of man. I state what every- 
body knows when I say that it is absolutely impossible 
for the human body to live without water. Life may 
be preserved for several days without a drop of drink. 
But, sooner or later, there must come a period of un- 
utterable agony, ending in a frightful death. It is 
doubtful if there is any bodily suffering more intense 
than that which attends death by thirst. 

If you were adrift on the ocean in an open boat, or 
bound to a broken spar, under a tropical sun, and had 
been floating thus for many days without a drop of 
drink, what would you give for one goblet of water? If 
you had a million of dollars in gold on your person, 
and it would purchase one spoonful of cold, fresh water, 
you would make the exchange in an instant, and call it 
the best bargain ever made. In your estimation, one 
bead of water clinging to the "old oaken bucket," as it 
is drawn dripping from the cool well's bottom, would 
be worth more than a solid mass of gold as large as 
this globe. 

It is said that a lonely traveler in the desert, having 
lost his way and wandered many days over the scorch- 
ing sands without a drop of water, came at last, almost 
dead, in sight of something on the ground which 
looked like a leathern bottle, such as the Orientals 
use for carrying drink. Full of hope, he hastened 
on, expecting to quench his tormenting thirst. When 
he came to the spot he fell, overwhelmed with dis- 
appointment and despair. What he took to be a 



28 The Wells of Salvation. 

bottle of water was nothing but a bag of diamonds. 
Many times — hundreds of times — men have been in 
circumstances where they would gladly have drawn 
the blood from their veins, and have paid it out for 
water at the rate of four drops for one. 

There is such a thing as soul-thirst. In its extreme 
degrees, it is as much more tormenting than physical 
thirst as the ethereal, immortal spirit is greater in 
capacity and duration than this gross and dying body. 
Soul-thirst, unless relieved, ends — or rather culminates, 
it never ends — in eternal death. It was this soul- 
thirst which tormented the rich man in hades, when he 
begged that Lazarus might come and put one drop of 
water on his tongue. 

The religion of the Bible is the only thing which 
can satisfy the thirst of the soul. It can satisfy with 
perfect satisfaction. Millions of thirsty ones have 
drank at the "wells of salvation," and have rejoiced 
with unspeakable joy. How grateful to the penitent 
heart — the heart which feels its need — is the Divine 
invitation: "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to 
the waters!" 

Sinner, you must have salvation. You are dying 
of spiritual thirst. You feel not your need. Putting 
forth all your strength and spending all your time to 
secure the things which are seen, you forget that you 
have a soul which craves the unseen and the eternal. 
By and by you will wake up to the truth, and will feel 
the pangs of spiritual thirst. God grant that the wak- 
ing may come on this side the grave, where the "wells 
of salvation" are! God made your soul with its im- 
mortal cravings. God also made the Christian re- 
ligion to fill and satisfy the utmost capacity of your 
soul. Without the religion of the Bible you can never 



The Wells of Salvation, 29 

know what real happiness is. Filled with its fullness, 
you will rise to higher joys than angels ever felt. 

Come all! Come now! Come to the "wells of 
salvation!" I see them now. They are grouped 
around a central structure shaped like a cross. It is 
the cross of Jesus Christ. It is the derrick which was 
used in digging the wells. He who would come to 
the "wells of salvation" must pass under the out- 
stretched arms of the blood-stained cross. 

I can not tell how many the "wells of salvation" 
are. I can see four, at a single glance. There must 
be many more. They may be as numerous as the 
wells of Elim, which were twelve. 

The first which I will name is the well of Public 
Worship. The waters of this fountain are very pleasant 
to those who are accustomed to its use. The Psalmist 
David prized it very highly. When driven away by 
the rebellion of his wicked Absalom, he mourned 
most bitterly because he could not drink his accus- 
tomed draughts at this well. "How amiable are thy 
tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!" he was heard to ex- 
claim. "My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth, for the 
courts of the Lord." All good Christians love the 
water of the well of Public Worship, and they agree 
that their spiritual health is greatly improved by its 
habitual use. 

The second well is called Social Worship. This 
water ought to be drunk by all Christians very regu- 
larly and copiously. It has strong tonic properties, 
and is very useful when used in connection with that 
of the first well named. It has often been observed 
that those professed Christians who pass this well by 
are invariably weak and sickly, and usually soon lose 
their relish for the waters of all the other wells of sal- 



The Wells of Salvation. 31 

Such men as Paul, Milton, Webster, Newton, and 
Jefferson, the intellectual giants of the race, declare 
most solemnly that the Holy Scriptures are beyond 
comparison the grandest and most wonderful of all 
the books in the world. They themselves were happy 
in the privilege of drinking from this exhaustless foun- 
tain. Though this well is so deep, the shortest and 
feeblest intellect can reach the water and drink to its 
heart's content. All who drink declare that it is 
"sweeter than honey and the honey-comb." 

An important question remains to be answered: 
How shall we draw from the "wells of salvation?" 
The answer is as direct as the question. We must 
draw with the rope and bucket of faith. This is the 
only way. You may come to the wells every day. 
You may lean over the curbs, and see your face re- 
flected in the water: but not a drop can touch your 
lips unless you draw with the rope of faith. With this, 
any child can draw. Without this, the strongest and 
most gifted man must go away unsatisfied. 

You may attend the public and social worship, 
you may pray and read the Bible; but your soul will 
receive no benefit unless you have faith. With the 
rope of faith in your hand, you can draw the water of 
life with joy out of the wells of salvation. Such joy 
this poor, sin-stained earth never knew. O, come to 
the wells of salvation ! They are free to all. No money 
is demanded of poor or rich. Come one and all! 
Come now ! Come as you are ! But be sure that you 
bring the rope of faith. Then "with joy shall ye 
draw water out of the wells of salvation." 



II. 

BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST. 

" Tekel : Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found 
wanting." — Daniex v, 27. 

jVfEBUCHADNEZZAR THE GREAT sat on the 
* ^ throne of Babylon, and of the world, for the 
period of forty-three years. His was the first universal 
empire. He was a proud, conceited, passionate, am- 
bitious, idolatrous, and cruel monarch. Such he was 
till God had disciplined him with the seven-lashed 
scourge of affliction. Then, in the latter part of his 
reign, he came to himself, and said: "Now I, Nebu- 
chadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of 
heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judg- 
ment: and those who walk in pride he is able to abase." 
We have reason to believe that Nebuchadnezzar died 
in the faith, and that his soul is now with his Re- 
deemer in glory. 

Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded in the kingdom 
by his son, Evil-Merodach. Evil-Merodach was a weak 
prince. At the end of two years he was murdered by 
his sister's husband, Neriglissar, who took his place 
and reigned four years. Neriglissar's successor was 
his son, Laborosoarchod, whom his subjects murdered 
nine months after he mounted the throne. The next, 
and the last, king of Babylon was Nabonadius, the 
husband of Nebuchadnezzar's daughter. He associ- 
ated his son, Belshazzar, with himself as assistant king, 
32 



Belshazzar' s Feast. 33 

and reigned seventeen years. While Nabonadius and 
Belshazzar were associate kings, the city of Babylon 
was taken, and the empire of Babylon was ground to 
dust, and scattered by the four winds of heaven. 

At this point I invite you to step out of the direct 
line of my discourse, and examine, with me, the ruins 
of one of the strongholds of infidelity. The Bible 
represents Belshazzar as being the last king of Baby- 
lon. Secular history, in its more familiar chapters, 
says that Nabonadius was the last king of Babylon, 
and that he was absent when his capital fell. Infidels 
used to point to this apparent contradiction, and say: 
"See there! Your Bible contradicts the records of 
history. Your Bible is a lie!" Christian scholars 
hardly knew what reply to make, till, in 1854, Sir 
Henry Rawlinson opened a new chapter in Babylonian 
history, or an old chapter newly discovered, and read : 
"King Nabonadius associated his son, Belshazzar, with 
him in the kingdom." The seeming contradiction be- 
tween sacred and secular history vanished. The Bible 
shone out through the clouds with dazzling brilliancy. 
Another of the breastworks of Satan was carried by 
storm; and infidels were compelled to flee and hide 
themselves in forests and swamps, and in dens and 
caves of the earth. Nabonadius was the last king of 
Babylon. He went out of the city, with an army, to 
fight the Medes and Persians in a distant province of 
the empire. So secular history is true. Belshazzar 
was the last king of Babylon. He staid in the 
capital to defend it against the army of Cyrus. So 
the Bible is true. The Bible nowhere says there was 
no such a man as Nabonadius. It hints that there 
was when it says that Daniel was made the "third 
ruler in the kingdom." If there had been no other 

3 



34 The Wells of Salvation. 

king than Belshazzar, Daniel would have been made 
the second ruler in the kingdom. O ye infidels, see 
how powerless are the weapons with which ye hope 
to overthrow the Word of God, and to save your- 
selves from that punishment which your sins deserve! 

Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon, made a great 
feast, on the last night of his life. It was the anniver- 
sary of one of the gods which he worshiped. The feast 
was spread in the banqueting-hall of the royal palace. 
It was the "New Palace," so called, that magnificent 
structure which Nebuchadnezzar had built for the 
honor of his majesty forty years before. It was a city 
in itself. It was seven miles in circuit. It was sur- 
rounded with three walls, one within another, with 
considerable spaces between them. It was most splen- 
didly decorated with statues and paintings of men 
and of animals. Within the walls of that marvelous 
palace were those famous "hanging gardens," which 
the world has agreed to number among its "seven 
great wonders." They rose above the city, with ter- 
race after terrace, supported on arches, so solid and 
yet so airy that the superstructure seemed like a forest- 
clad mountain suspended between the heavens and 
the earth. The "New Palace" stood on the eastern 
bank of the river Euphrates.. On the western bank 
rose the walls of the "Old Palace." Between the two 
were a bridge, above the w T aters of the river; and a 
subterranean passage beneath. 

In the most sumptuous of all his palace halls, at 
a table groaning with burdens of massive plate and 
the rarest and richest viands from all parts of the 
earth, reclined the proud and voluptuous king. 
Around reclined a thousand of his lords and the fairest 
women of his harem. A more magnificent banquet 



Belshazzar's Feast. 35 

never was given or enjoyed. Golden lamps, hanging 
from a ceiling paneled with ivory and pearl, shed a 
soft luster on walls pillared with statues, on a floor 
paved with alabaster and carpeted with the richest rugs 
from the looms of India, on couches mounted with 
silver and cushioned with velvet, on bands of mu- 
sicians, on troops of servants, on the proudest king, 
on the most illustrious princes, on the most gifted 
women, on the most gorgeous costumes, on the most 
bewildering splendor in all the world. Every heart 
in that glittering company was wild with delight. No 
one was troubled with care. No one dreamed of dan- 
ger. No one thought of the morrow. 

And yet it was a time of war. The fierce Medes 
and the warlike Persians were encamped around the 
city. But had they not been battering those proud 
walls in vain for more than forty-eight months? 
Could Cyrus ever take Babylon? "No," answered 
the best generals in the army. "No," answered the 
long files of soldiers who lined the ramparts, and 
laughed defiance at the baffled foe. "No," answered 
the vast storehouses within the city filled with pro- 
visions, and the cultivated acres of gardens and parks 
filled with growing food. "No," answered one hun- 
dred gates Of clanging brass. "No," answered twice 
one hundred massive towers, as they stretched them- 
selves upward toward the sky. "No," answered every 
brick in that mighty wall, as it spread itself out, 
eighty-five feet in thickness, and lifted its frowning 
front three hundred and thirty-five feet high. "No," 
answered the outlying ditch, embracing the city with 
sixty miles of flowing water, deep and wide. "No," 
hoarsely answered the majestic Euphrates as he poured 
his floods under the arches of the walls and through 



36 The Wells of Salvation. 

the town. All facts, all circumstances, all theories, 
all opinions, all experiences, united to say: "Babylon 
can never be taken; Babylon will stand forever." And 
so the feast went on, and the sky of every mind was 
bright with hope and with fruition. 

They had wine at that feast — not the unfermented 
juice of the grape which God praises and commends; 
but alcoholic wine, which inspiration calls "a mocker," 
"the wine of astonishment," "the poison of dragons 
and the cruel venom of asps," and on which it forbids 
us even to look. That wine flowed freely at Belshaz- 
zar's feast. Belshazzar challenged his lords to drink 
against him, declaring in boasting words that he could 
pour down more wine than any other man in the hall. 
Belshazzar drank until he was drunk. So did his lords. 
So did his ladies. 

When a man is drunk, the devil has free access to 
his mind and heart. When the brain of that foolish 
king was inflamed with wine, the devil suggested a most 
impious deed, on whose execution he instantly re- 
solved. Calling a servant, he ordered him to bring the 
golden and silver vessels which his grandfather, Nebu- 
chadnezzar, had taken out of the temple which was 
in Jerusalem. They were brought and placed upon 
the table in a glittering row. They had been conse- 
crated to the service of the most high God centuries 
before, and had never been put to any common use. 
For any man to use them, unless he were a heaven- 
appointed priest serving at the altar of Jehovah, would 
be sacrilege of the most damning kind. Belshazzar 
knew that; he knew who the God of the Hebrews was. 
His guests knew that Nebuchadnezzar, near the close 
of his reign, had embraced the Jewish faith, and pub- 
lished a decree recommending all his subjects to follow 






Belshazzar's Feast. 37 

his example. It is probable that he made a determined 
effort to establish the true religion throughout the 
whole extent of his empire. Belshazzar was the cham- 
pion of the old idolatry. Bel was his god. His name 
means prince of Bel. He hated Jehovah, and resolved 
to insult and defy him in the presence of that great 
company. And so, at his command, those consecrated 
vessels, which had been stolen out of the house of God, 
were filled with "the poison of dragons and the cruel 
venom of asps," and he, and his princes, and his wives, 
and his concubines, drank from them to the health of 
the gods of Babylon, whose images "of gold, and of 
silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone," adorned 
the hall where the wild revel was held. They praised 
the gods of Babylon. They cursed the God of heaven. 
Every heart was filled with pride and hate; and every 
right hand was raised threateningly toward heaven. 
The hall resounded with the clash of goblets and 
flagons and the shouts of the drunken idolaters, and 
the discordant sounds rolled out over the city. 

Suddenly a cry of terror and agony, above the 
uproar of the revel, arrested the attention of the frantic 
banqueters. There sat one of their number, as pale 
as marble, pointing to an object on the wall near the 
ceiling. He could not speak. His arm, his body, his 
eyelids, seemed to be frozen; they were frozen with 
fear. Every eye followed the direction of the upraised 
arm. With horror unutterable they saw — the fingers 
of a human hand, holding a style and writing on the 
wall. They saw only the fingers. The rest of the 
hand, the wrist, the arm, the body of him who wrote, 
were invisible. They saw the fingers moving the pen 
along the wall. They saw the letters taking shape. 
Then pen and hand vanished, and nothing remained 



38 The Wells of Salvation. 

but the writing. At that the banqueters stared, trans- 
fixed with speechless terror. 

No one was so frightened as the king. He knew 
the writing meant his doom. At length he spoke. 
"Bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the 
soothsayers, that they may read the writing, and tell 
us its meaning." They came; they could not read. 
They could only stand and stare like the rest. 

Then, at the suggestion of the queen-mother, the 
widow of Nebuchadnezzar, who had not taken part in 
the impious feast, but had come into the hall to learn 
what the tumult was, Daniel, the prophet of the Lord, 
was called. He stood before the frightened monarch. 
He was an old man; more than eighty years had 
passed over his head. But the same fire burned in his 
soul and sparkled in his eye as when he stood before 
Nebuchadnezzar to interpret his dream. "Read that 
inscription, and tell me its meaning," said the king, 
"and thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a 
golden chain about thy neck, and shalt be the third 
ruler in the kingdom." Daniel declined the proffered 
honors, but promised to interpret the writing. First, 
he reminded the monarch of his grandfather's sin 
and punishment. Then he said: "And thou, O Bel- 
shazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou 
knewest all this; but hast lifted up thyself against the 
Lord of heaven ; and they have brought the vessels of 
his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy 
wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; 
and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of 
brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, 
nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, 
and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified. 



Belshazzar's Feast. 39 

Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and 
this writing was written." 

■ Then Daniel read the inscription. The words were 
Chaldaic, written in some strange character which 
the king and his courtiers did not know. They were 
"Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin," "Numbered, 
Weighed, Divided." Then the prophet gave their hid- 
den meaning. "Mene: God hath numbered thy king- 
dom, and finished it. Tekel: Thou art weighed in the 
balances, and art found wanting. Upharsin: Thy 
kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and 
Persians." 

While these scenes were taking place in the palace 
of Babylon, great events were taking place without. 
For many months, Cyrus and his army had been en- 
gaged in cutting a new channel for the river, so as to 
turn its course, and leave its bed dry where it flowed 
through the city. They also intended to use the empty 
bed of a large artificial lake, which Nebuchadnezzar 
had excavated to receive the waters of the river while 
he was building the walls of his capital. The design 
of Cyrus was carefully hidden from his enemies. Hav- 
ing been informed by deserters that on a certain night 
the Babylonians would celebrate an annual festival 
by drinking themselves drunk in honor of their gods, 
he fixed upon that night for the execution of his plan. 
He divided his army into three detachments. One 
part he sent to break down the dams, and let the river 
flow away from its accustomed channel. The second 
he stationed at the place where the river entered the 
city, and the third where it came out, with orders to 
enter the channel as soon as they could, and march 
toward each other till they should meet. The dams 



40 The Wells of Salvation. 

were broken down, the waters filled the lake and the 
trench, and the bed of the mighty stream was left 
almost dry. 

At midnight, while Belshazzar and his lords were 
deriding the Persians over their cups, the army of 
Cyrus passed under the walls, and marched silently 
along the channel to a point near the center of the 
great palace. The brazen gates leading to the river 
had been left unbarred; and the guards were too 
drunk to make any resistance, or to sound the alarm. 
In rushed the exultant Persians, and spread them- 
selves through the besotted city. While Daniel was 
reading the handwriting on the wall, a hostile band 
was in the palace. When he said, "Upharsin: Thy 
kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Per- 
sians," they were in the entry of the banqueting-hall. 
There they encountered the royal body-guard. A 
scuffle ensued. Hearing the noise, the king snatched 
his sword and ran to the door. There he met a line 
of glittering steel, and was hewed in pieces in a mo- 
ment. Over his mangled corpse, Darius the Mede 
passed to the throne of Babylon and of the world. 
While the body of Darius was being lifted by his lords 
up the steps of the throne of universal empire, the 
soul of Belshazzar was being dragged by devils down 
into the prison-house of eternal despair. What a 
dreadful end to a banquet, to a kingdom, to a life, to 
a probation! 

Those four words written on the wall of Belshaz- 
zar's palace, transferred to God's Book, and inter- 
preted by God's prophet, have a value to us. I have 
chosen one of them as the text of this evening: "Tekel: 
Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found want- 
ing." To every soul in this house, to every soul on 



Belshazzar's Feast. 41 

this planet, it might truthfully be said: 'Thou art 
weighed in the balances." 

In the first place, men weigh themselves. In weigh- 
ing themselves, men use a false balance. The balance 
which men use in weighing themselves is "self-conceit" 
This is a very unjust instrument for weighing. It is 
natural for us to think of ourselves more highly than 
we ought to think. We are strongly inclined to over- 
look our faults, and fasten our eyes admiringly upon 
our excellences, real or fancied. If we have faults too 
glaring to be wholly unseen, we minify them ; while we 
greatly magnify our virtues. When we examine our 
defects, we stand afar off, and look at them through a 
telescope, whose large end is at our eye. When we 
examine our redeeming qualities, we get as near as 
we can, and put the small end of the instrument in 
front of the organ of vision. The thought I am trying 
to bring out is very forcibly expressed in an old 
heathen fable, which says: "When Jupiter created 
man, he put his faults in one bag, and his virtues in 
another, and hung them by cords around his neck, 
so that the bag containing his good qualities should 
be in front, where they would always be in sight, and 
the bag containing his bad qualities should be behind, 
where they could never be seen." The balance of self- 
conceit is a very unjust instrument for weighing. The 
beam is not suspended by the middle. One arm is 
much longer than the other. The difference between 
the two arms is so great that, in some instances, a 
pound in one scale has been known to make a ton's 
weight kick the beam on the other side. Thus men 
weigh themselves, and say: "I am not wanting." 

In weighing themselves, men not only use a false 
balance, but they use false weights as well. One false 



42 The Wells of Salvation. 

weight is the reputation of a fallen minister. I be- 
lieve that the pastors of our Protestant Churches are, 
as a class, the purest and noblest of men. They have 
entered the sacred calling as from no other motive 
than a desire to glorify God and save souls. They 
teach holiness by precept and example. But now 
and then there is a black-hearted man among them, 
as there was in the college of the apostles, who has 
taken up the ministry from base and worldly and 
impure motives. There are others, still, who were 
pure at the beginning; but who, falling under the 
power of temptation, are overcome and enslaved by 
lust and sin. That man yonder who would rather 
weigh himself than have God weigh him, reads in a 
newspaper about the fall of a minister. Perhaps he 
has forged a note. Perhaps he has stolen a horse. 
Perhaps he has poisoned his wife. Perhaps he has got 
intoxicated. The man throws down the paper, and 
rubs his hands together in perfect delight. Then he 
gets out his old balance of "self-conceit," throws the 
reputation of the mud-bespattered clergyman into the 
pan which hangs from the short arm of the lever, and 
jumps with all his weight into the other pan. Of course, 
his side goes down, and the other goes up. Then he 
sits with folded arms despising the other, and admir- 
ing and praising himself. "I am a much better man 
than that reverend gentleman. I am good enough. 
I am very good. I shall certainly go to heaven when 
I die." How many expect to ride into the New Jeru- 
salem on the back of the sins of renegade preachers 
of the gospel! My friend, if all the clergymen of all 
the Churches should turn out to be drunkards and 
murderers, your chances for eternal life would not 
be bettered one iota. You can not make a ton out 



BELSIfAZZAR'S Feast. 43 

of sixteen ounces by weighing them against an imper- 
fect standard. You can not make your black heart 
white by comparing it with a heart still blacker than 
your own. 

Another false weight is the inconsistencies of Church 
members. The Church is the household of God. Its 
members are the salt of the earth. They are the true 
nobility of God's earthly government. They are the 
fairest of the sons of men. Take them out of the world, 
and the world would be a moral waste; society would 
become a pandemonium; humanity would soon sink 
to the level of the demons. And yet there is no Church 
which can show one faultless member. Every denomi- 
nation, and perhaps every local Church, has hypocrites 
among its members. Some men go into the Church 
to cloak their crimes. There are bad men in the 
Church. If you would find the meanest man that 
lives, look for him in the Church. Many will go from 
the Church to the lowest chambers of hell. There are 
many others in the Church who have been regenerated 
by the Spirit of God, and who really intend to live a 
Christian life, but who, through neglect of watchful- 
ness and prayer, fall into the snares of Satan, and bring 
reproach on the name of Christ. 

Now that foolish man yonder, with "the balances 
of deceit in his hand, ,, spends much of his time in 
scrutinizing the conduct of the professors of Chris- 
tianity. He neglects his own weedy garden, that he 
may watch the growth of the weeds in his neighbor's 
field. When he has caught that Christian neighbor 
in an act which the Bible condemns, he is as happy 
as though he had discovered a "pearl of great price." 
Forthwith he picks up the wicked thing, and flourishes 
it before the world with undisguised joy, exclaiming, 



44 The Wells of Salvation, 

"See there; see what that Christian has done!" Then 
he puts it in one of the pans of his unjust balance, and 
some good act which he himself performed long ago 
in the other pan, and, holding up the unequal scales, 
cries aloud: "See how much better I am than that 
Church member! If he is on the way to heaven, so 
am I! I have no cause to fear! If there is any such 
thing as Christianity, I am a Christian!" If God 
should speak to that man, he would say: "Every one 
shall give account of himself to me." My friend, if 
you had six ounces of gold, you could not make it a 
pound by weighing it in a false balance against clipped 
weights. You may deceive the world, and cheat your- 
self, by hiding your sins under the imperfections of 
those who call themselves Christians, but you can not 
deceive the Omniscient One. If, at the judgment-bar, 
every Church member, from Abel to the last convert 
baptized just before the sounding of the resurrection 
trump, should be proved a hypocrite, your condem- 
nation would not be diminished a feather's weight; 
your banishment from the presence of God and his 
holy angels would be just as certain and as terrible. 
If you are honest, and wish to know your exact stand- 
ing before God, you will not compare yourself with 
other imperfect men ; you will compare yourself with 
Christ, the Perfect Man. If you would know just what 
your moral and spiritual avoirdupois is, use a per- 
fect balance; use standard weights, which have been 
examined and stamped by the Great Sealer of weights, 
whose office is in heaven. 

There are other false weights which men use in 
weighing themselves. I can not name them all. The 
time will not permit. I pass to a more important 
thought. God weighs men. In weighing men, God 



Belshazzar's Feast. 45 

uses a perfect balance. Its beam is suspended exactly 
in the middle. The two arms are equal; they do not 
differ by the thickness of a hair. If equal weights 
are placed in the two pans, the beam rests perfectly 
level. God's balance is sensitive to the last degree. 
It weighs men's acts; it weighs their words; it weighs 
their thoughts; it weighs their impulses; it weighs their 
most secret motives; it weighs their character. Every 
act, every word, every thought, every impulse, every 
motive, of every responsible human being, has been 
accurately weighed, and its weight set down in the 
book of the Divine memory. At the judgment of the 
great day, that book will be opened, and the living 
and the dead will be judged out of those things which 
are written in the book, according to their works. If 
you ask the name of God's balances, I answer, "Jus- 
tice" — perfect, rigid, impartial, absolute justice. 

In weighing men, God uses just weights, which have 
been tested by a perfect standard. Conscience is one 
weight. God weighs every man against conscience. 
Into one pan he puts the man who is to be weighed — 
all his acts, words, and thoughts. Into the other pan he 
puts the man's own conscience. If the man has always 
listened to the voice of conscience, and obeyed it per- 
fectly, without a moment's hesitation, the beam hangs 
even, and God smiles with pleasure and approbation. 
Otherwise, the beam inclines, and God frowns and 
says: ''Wanting! wanting!" 

My friend, have you always hearkened to the "still 
small voice," which speaks to you out of your own 
soul? When your moral character, your life, is 
weighed against your own conscience, do you not go 
up, while conscience goes down? Do you not hear 
the Divine voice, saying: "Thou art weighed in the 



46 The Wells of Salvation. 

balances, and art found wanting?" All men, even the 
heathen, are weighed against conscience. Who of us 
has always obeyed conscience perfectly? Alas! we 
must all hang our heads in shame, and confess that 
we are wanting when thus we are weighed. 

Another weight which God uses in weighing men 
is knowledge. Into one scale he puts the sum of all 
the man's acting and speaking and thinking. Into 
the other he puts all that the man knows, or might 
know, of duty and obligation. If the man has always 
lived up to all the light and knowledge he has received, 
earnestly seeking all the time for more knowledge 
and light, the beam hangs level, and the Divine face 
is wreathed with smiles. Otherwise, the Judge frowns, 
and ''Wanting! wanting!" is the verdict which issues 
from his lips. My friend, have you always availed 
yourself of all the knowledge within your reach, striv- 
ing to do the perfect will of Heaven? Have you always 
done the very best you knew how? You dare not 
say "yes" to that question. You dare not utter such 
a lie as that would be. You must confess that you 
are wanting, fearfully wanting, when weighed against 
what you know. God weighs all men, even the 
heathen, against the weight of all the spiritual light 
they possess, or might receive. 

Another weight which God uses in weighing men 
is opportunity. Into one scale he puts the man's char- 
acter and life. Into the other he puts all the oppor- 
tunities which he has ever enjoyed for getting and 
doing good. If the weight of what the man has done, 
and is, equals the sum of all his opportunities for good, 
well. If not, God says: "Thou art weighed in the 
balances, and art found wanting." After this manner 
God weighs all men, even the heathen. My friend, 



Belshazzar's Feast. 47 

your opportunities have been countless and measure- 
less. They are like mountains in magnitude; like the 
drops of the ocean in number. Have you improved 
them all? Have you improved every Sabbath which 
has dawned upon you ; every gospel sermon which has 
been preached in your hearing; every word of godly 
advice which has been spoken in your ear; every 
prayer which has ascended to heaven in your behalf; 
every example of holy living which you have wit- 
nessed; every occasion presented you to glorify the 
Master and bless your fellow-men? You can not say, 
"I have." You are weighed in the Divine balances 
against the enormous weight of your golden oppor- 
tunities, and are found wanting. Between your moral 
weight and the weight of your opportunities there is a 
greater disparity than in the case of the most degraded 
heathen beneath the stars. 

One more weight must be named which God uses 
in weighing men. It is the Bible. He uses this weight 
only in weighing those to whom the Bible has been 
given. He uses it when he wishes to learn the avoir- 
dupois of your soul. O, what a disparity there is 
between your character and this Book! It is as great 
as the difference between the weight of a mountain 
and the weight of a feather. Compared with this 
standard, you are fearfully wanting, unconverted man, 
in those qualities of heart without which you can never 
see the kingdom of God. Weighed against the char- 
acter of fallen ministers and hypocritical or back- 
slidden Church members, you may make a fair show. 
But when you are weighed against the precepts of 
the Holy Bible, the "Word of God, which liveth and 
abideth forever," the whole universe crys: "Wanting! 
wanting! wanting!" 



48 The Wells of Salvation. 

God weighed Belshazzar. He weighed his acts. 
He was a drunkard, a debauchee, an idolater, a cruel 
and heartless tyrant. He weighed his words. He was 
a blasphemous scoffer against the truth. He weighed 
his thoughts. He was full of pride and malignity 
and selfishness. In all these, the king of the Chal- 
deans was found wanting. But he was wanting more 
in something else. God said to him, through Daniel : 
"O Belshazzar, thou hast not humbled thine heart, 
but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; 
and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose 
are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified." Belshazzar 
was "found wanting," was rejected, was slain, was 
damned, chiefly because he had not humbled himself 
and glorified his God. 

You, my unregenerate friend, are wanting, in that 
you have not humbled your heart, but have lifted up 
yourself against the Lord of heaven, and that God in 
whose hand your breath is and whose are all your 
ways, you have not glorified. If you have done right, 
it has been to please yourself, not to please God. You 
are weighed; you are found wanting; you are rejected; 
you are in danger of eternal condemnation. Weighed 
in the balances of "self-conceit," against the clipped 
and deficient standard of outward morality, and the 
lives of bad or imperfect men, you may not be seriously 
wanting. Weighed in the balances of the sanctuary, 
whose decisions are to fix the eternal doom of souls, 
against conscience, and knowledge, and opportunity, and 
the Bible, you are wanting almost to an infinite degree. 

Some one may ask: "If souls are to be weighed in 
the balance of absolute justice, with weights which are 
conformed to a perfect standard, who is there who will 
not be found wanting? Who has always obeyed the 



Belshazzar's Feast. 49 

yoice ot conscience? Who has lived up to all the light 
he has received? Who has used all his opportunities? 
Who has observed all the precepts of the Holy Book?" 
Not one. "All have sinned, and come short of the 
glory of God." Who, then, can be saved? 

I think I see the answer to that question. I see a 
great, hard, rough, brown hand thrust down through 
the clouds. It holds a pair of balances. I can not 
see the being to whom the hand belongs, but I know 
he must be stern and just. In one scale is put the 
soul of the holiest man on earth. I speak of natural 
goodness. In the other scale is put his conscience. Up 
goes the soul. Then knowledge is put in with con- 
science. The soul rises still higher. Then oppor- 
tunity is added to conscience and knowledge. The 
soul takes another upward start. Then the Bible is 
thrown into the scale with opportunity and knowl- 
edge and conscience. Now the scale which holds 
the soul takes a sudden bound, and strikes against the 
beam with an awful clang, which shapes itself into 
articulate sounds, and Wanting! Wanting! Wanting! 
rolls across the vault of heaven, with dismal reverber- 
ations, which are answered back by the demons of the 
pit with howls of exultant joy. The soul looks up to 
heaven, and humbly prays for mercy. Now another 
hand appears. It is a soft, delicate, white hand. There 
is a ragged wound in the center of the palm. It holds 
itself over the soul. One drop of blood oozes from 
the wound and falls upon the scale. Instantly it be- 
gins to descend. Under the almost infinite weight 
of the single drop of blood the scale which holds the 
soul goes down, down, till the beam hands evenly 
poised; and a voice comes out of the cloud: "The blood 
of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin." 

4 



III. 

NAAMAN THE LEPER. 

"Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in 
Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God : and his 
flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he 
was clean." — 2 Kings v, 14. 

ET us imagine ourselves to be living in the year 
*-" 894 before Christ, instead of the year 1897 after 
Christ; and that our home is in the city of Damascus. 

Damascus is the fairest city in all the world. It 
surpasses all other places in the beauty of its temples, 
the magnitude of its shrines, the loveliness of its cli- 
mate, the limpidness of its fountains, the abundance 
of its waters, and the richness of its gardens. The 
plain, in the midst of w r hich it stands, is a perfect 
earthly paradise. On the west and north rise the 
snow-crowned peaks of the mountains of Lebanon. 
Far away, on the east, stretches the great Arabian 
desert. On the south towers lofty Hermon, in ala- 
baster whiteness, looking down upon the whole scene. 
Down from Lebanon, across the plain, flow two large 
rivers, the Abana and Pharpar, of crystalline purity, 
dividing and subdividing and giving perpetual mois- 
ture to every inch of soil. This region never knows 
scorching summer or freezing winter. From the be- 
ginning of the year to the end, it is filled with grass, 
and foliage, and waving grain, and gardens of flowers, 
and orchards of fruits, and vineyards of grapes, and 
spray of fountains, and songs of birds, and laughter of 
50 



N A AM AN THE LEPER. 5 1 

children, and shouts of joyous sowers and harvesters. 
Out of the midst of this verdure, standing on both 
sides of the Abana, and surrounded with thick and 
lofty walls, rises the city, with tapering towers and 
swelling domes, like a diamond clasp on a velvet robe 
of emerald green. 

We are standing in the principal street of the town. 
On either side is a palace. On the east, facing glorious 
Lebanon, rises in royal splendor and magnificence 
the residence of Ben-hadad II, king of Syria. On the 
other side is a splendid, but less magnificent man- 
sion, wdiich interests us more than the larger and 
costlier. As we are studying its architecture, a gate, 
on the left side, is suddenly thrown open, and out 
dashes a war-chariot drawn by four milk-white steeds. 
Close behind ride half a hundred men on horseback, 
richly uniformed and armed with flashing steel. In 
the chariot, behind the driver, stands a tall and noble- 
looking man, clad in complete armor, with a plumed 
helmet on his head, and a scarlet robe hanging from 
his shoulders. 

I want you to look at that man. He lives in this 
palace. His name is Naaman. General Naaman they 
call him. For many reasons he is more to be envied 
than almost any other man in all the world. He is 
immensely rich. He has everything that money can 
buy. He lives in a palace. He has armies of servants 
to do his bidding. Everybody treats him with the 
greatest respect and reverence. He has a noble, manly 
character. He is the greatest soldier of the age. He 
has fought many bloody battles, and gained many 
glorious victories for his country. Everywhere he 
goes the people hail him, "Savior of Syria." He is the 
man who shot and killed his country's greatest enemy, 



52 The Wells of Salvatlon. 

Ahab, king of Israel, at the battle of Ramoth-gilead. 
The people link his name with that of the Supreme 
Ruler of the Universe, and say, ''God raised up our 
noble Naaman to be our liberator and savior." He is 
the commander-in-chief of the armies of Syria. There 
is only one man above him, King Ben-hadad, who 
honors and loves him as his dearest friend. Surely, 
if there is a person in the world who ought to be con- 
tended and happy, General Naaman is that person. 
But I am obliged to tell you that he is not. There 
is one fact in his life which spoils all his joy. There 
is one drop of gall in his cup of pleasure, which turns 
all its contents to bitterness and death. That one 
thing is so perfectly horrible that he would gladly 
exchange places with the meanest slave who calls 
him master. I hesitate to speak the word; but I must. 
Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, is a 
great man with his master, and honorable, because 
by him the Lord has given deliverance unto Syria; 
he is also a mighty man of valor; but he is a leper. 
He is a victim of that most terrible of all the diseases 
which war against human health and life — the Oriental 
leprosy. 

One day, after he had been commissioned lieu- 
tenant-general cf Syria, and had taken possession of 
this palace, he discovered a little pimple on his hand. 
The awful word "leprosy" instantly flashed through 
his brain. He chased it out, and tried to keep it out. 
He showed the pimple to no one, not even his wife. 
But it was never out of his mind during his waking 
moments, and he examined it a hundred times a day. 
He tried to make himself believe that it did not grow. 
But it did grow. After some weeks, smaller pimples 
sprung up around it as a center. He tried to keep 



N A AM AN THE LEPER. 53 

the diseased member out of sight. His wife saw it, but 
said not a word. The servants saw it, and whispered 
around the palace, "General Naaman has the leprosy." 
By and by the affected part assumed a whitish, scale- 
like appearance, with raw flesh underneath the scales. 
Then the general showed his hand to the king's phy- 
sician, and asked him what the matter was. The doc- 
tor did not dare to speak the hateful word. So he 
called it by some long, jaw-breaking, scientific name. 
But Naaman was not fooled. He saw in the doctor's 
eye that he knew that he had the leprosy. 

That was many months ago. Since then the in- 
fection has been rapidly spreading. A painful itching 
vexes the victim by day and by night. He has lost 
most of his hair. His eyebrows are gone. There are 
large ulcers on his cheeks. His palate is partly con- 
sumed. His voice, which used to ring out so clear 
and strong on the field of battle above all the din of 
the conflict, is husky and indistinct. The victim him- 
self knows, his wife knows, all his servants know, the 
king knows, the army knows, all the people know, that 
the great and mighty and honorable Naaman, general- 
in-chief of the armies of Syria, is slowly dying, eaten 
up inch by inch by that most loathsome and painful 
and incurable of all diseases — the hated leprosy. 

While Naaman is gone for a ride for his health, 
through the olive-yards and citron-groves of the plain 
of Damascus, I want to talk to you about another 
disease, from which many of us are suffering, a hun- 
dred times worse than the Oriental leprosy. In many 
places in the Scriptures the leprosy is used as a symbol 
of sin. Its relations to the body are very similar to 
the relations which sin bears to the soul. 

First, Leprosy is a loathsome disease. It makes its 



54 The Wells of Salvation. 

victim loathsome to all his neighbors, to his most in- 
timate friends and kindred, and to himself. Who would 
be willing to sleep or eat or live or walk with a leper? 
Who would not flee at the sight of such corruption? 

Sin is loathsome. It is moral corruption. It makes 
the soul loathsome. I speak the sober, unvarnished 
truth when I say that sin, when viewed as it is, is vastly 
more loathsome and disgusting than leprosy in its 
worst form. You know something of what leprosy 
can do for its victim. Now let inspiration describe sin 
in its most aggravated forms. If you turn to the first 
chapter of Isaiah, you will find these exact words: 
"The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 
From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is 
no soundness in it; but wounds and bruises and putri- 
fying sores : they have not been closed, neither bound 
up, neither mollified with ointment." That is the sin- 
ful soul. Not every sinner is as bad as that. But that 
is the condition toward which every sinner is rapidly 
tending. 

Sin in its worst forms is loathsome to every one 
of us. All of you have seen sinners whom you could 
not endure. They were so vile you would be afraid 
to touch them for fear of contamination. I once stood 
on the steps of the "Tombs," in New York, while 
a squad of policemen were bringing in a prisoner 
whom they had just arrested. It was the most de- 
graded specimen of humanity that I had ever had the 
misfortune to behold. And yet it was a female. Is it 
possible — thought I — for a woman to sink so low? 
I can not find words with which to paint the portrait 
of the hideous hag. I will not insult the brute creation 
by saying that she was brutal. She was simply devilish. 
I can not conceive how a fiend, raked up out of the 



N A AM AN THE LEPER. 55 

lowest abyss of the bottomless pit, could surpass her 
in vileness and hideousness. As I speak, I can almost 
hear her demoniacal screams, her horrid imprecations, 
and her obscene and filthy language, as the officers 
dragged her by me into the court-room. And yet — 
I said to myself — that woman was once a bright, happy, 
innocent little girl. Sin has made her what she is. 
I turned away, sick at heart, with such a loathing for 
sin as I had never felt before. Turn to the records 
of ancient times. Read the lives of those monsters 
of vice who wore crowns and wielded scepters among 
men in the centuries gone, and see if you do not loathe 
their very names. Think of the Ahabs and the Jeze- 
bels and the Herods and the Caligulas and the Neros 
and the Lucretia Borgias and the Henry the Eighths. 
Do you not loathe those blood-stained, crime-soaked 
wretches? Yet they were once beautiful, innocent 
children. It was sin that made them so loathsome 
and hateful. They were full of moral leprosy. 

That sin is loathsome is proved by the fact that 
the convicted sinner loathes himself. His loathing 
of sin is in proportion to the depth of his conviction. 
A convicted sinner is simply one who knows and feels 
his sinful state. His eyes have been opened by the 
Spirit of God, so that he can see the scales and scabs 
and putrid ulcers with which his moral nature is com- 
pletely covered. Some of the best sinners, when under 
conviction, have caught such a view of their inner 
rottenness and corruption that they have been over- 
whelmed with despair, and have pronounced their 
disease incurable. Thus it was with Paul, a man of 
intellect, of learning, of refinement, of outward moral- 
ity. Before his eyes were opened, he deemed himself 
almost perfect. When the light of truth flashed upon 



56 The Wells of Salvation. 

him from above, he was filled with astonishment and 
disgust. He saw himself bound, hand to hand, foot 
to foot, mouth to mouth, to a putrescent corpse. In 
the sudden agony of his soul, he exclaimed: "O 
wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from 
the body of this death?"* 

When David saw his sins, he cried out to God: 
"There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine 
anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because 
of my sin. For mine iniquities have gone over my 
head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. 
My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my 
foolishness. I am sore troubled. I am bowed down 
greatly. I go mourning all the day long. For my 
loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there 
is no soundness in my flesh." It was no physical 
disease of which he was complaining; he was trying 
to describe the exceeding loathsomeness of the leprosy 
of sin. 

Leprosy is an hereditary disease. Parents transmit 
it to their children. One generation hands it down to 
the next. The offspring of lepers are said to be re- 
markably fair, at first; and, to all appearance, are as 
healthy as other children. But the seeds of the fatal 
malady are in their blood; and, sooner or later, it will 
show itself on a finger, or a cheek, or the nose. Thence 
it will spread till the whole body is covered with 
corruption. 

Sin is hereditary. By sin, in this connection, I do 
not mean sin in outward act, but in the inward ten- 
dency. Inbred sin is hereditary. Adam and Eve took 
the disorder in Eden by yielding to the solicitations 
of Satan. The second generation took it from them; 
the third from the second; the fourth from the third; 



N A AM AN THE LEPER. 57 

and so on down to the present time. In the moral 
nature of every infant, when it comes into the world, 
lurks the virus of the leprosy of sin. We see no trace 
of its inner workings at first. The exterior is fair and 
beautiful. We call the babe innocent and angelic. It is, 
so far as actual transgression is concerned. But, by 
and by, a little pimple appears. It is anger, or selfish- 
ness, or falsehood. It grows. It spreads. It gains 
new strength with every added year and month, till 
it has covered every faculty of the soul with its scales 
and scabs. 

Leprosy, among the Jezus, shut out its victims from 
the society of all zvho zvere free from the disease. All 
lepers were pronounced unclean, and were driven out 
to live by themselves, in some lonely place. The law 
of Moses was very strict in this respect. It forbade a 
leper to come near a city, or village, or any human 
habitation. He must live in the fields. If he had com- 
panions, they must be unclean persons like himself. 
If he chanced to see any one in the distance, coming 
toward him, he was required by the law to uncover his 
head, put his hand over his mouth, and shout as loud 
as he could, "Unclean! unclean!" and then run as fast 
and far as he could in the opposite direction. The 
Jews once had a king who became a leper. What was 
done with him? Were law and custom suspended 
because he was a king? No. His servants dragged 
him down from his throne, stripped off his purple 
robes, led him out of his sumptuous palace, and shut 
him up in a pest-house, where he lived till death came 
and let him out. 

Sin separates the sinner from among the pure. 
It compels him to dwell in solitude, or in the society 
of those who are like himself. This is the inevitable 



5$ The Wells of Salvation. 

tendency of sin. In this world the separation is but 
partial. But in the other world the separation will 
be complete and final. All the wicked will be in one 
place, and all the righteous in another. The Bible 
speaks of heaven. It also speaks of hell. Heaven 
is the everlasting abode of the righteous. It is some- 
times called a city — the New Jerusalem. Hell is 
simply a place outside the City of God. Now, just 
as the law of Moses shut all lepers out of ancient 
Jerusalem, so the law of God shuts all sinners out of 
the New Jerusalem. 

The reasons for this are two: First, God is deter- 
mined to protect the good, and make their happiness 
secure and complete. One sinner in heaven would 
mar and destroy its perfection and beauty. God will 
protect himself, his angels, and his saints by barring 
the gates of the New Jerusalem against every soul 
which is tainted with the leprosy of sin. Again, the 
sinner has no desire to live in the City of God. What 
pleasure could he find in going there to display his 
corruption and loathsomeness on the golden side- 
walks, along the evergreen banks of the River of Life? 
How would he feel, reeking with filth, in the palaces 
of pearl, in the sight of myriads of spotless angels 
and redeemed and sanctified men? If he should find 
himself there, he would hang his head in shame. He 
would cover his face with his hands. He would cry: 
"Unclean! unclean!" He would seek for a place 
where he could hide his putrid soul in darkness and 
oblivion. So the Almighty, in his infinite mercy and 
love, has provided a place outside of the city, a laza- 
retto, a pest-house, named hell, where all those who 
have the leprosy of sin will be shut up by themselves 
for ever and ever. It is a place which is exactly suited 



Naaman the Leper. 59 

to their condition; and, through eternity, there will 
never be heard a syllable of complaint that God was 
unjust in building such a place, or in confining them 
within its adamantine walls. 

"But," says some one, "is not that a hard and cruel 
lot?" It is a hard lot. But it can not be helped. If 
men will be sinners, if they will leave this world with 
the leprosy of sin fastened upon their immortal souls, 
it is best for all concerned — best for God, best for the 
saints, best for the sinners themselves — that the pure 
and the impure should dwell apart — these in the city 
of Heaven, those in the pest-house of Hell. O, my 
unsaved friends, remember this: Your sins have sepa- 
rated between you and your God; and if they are not 
washed away, they will separate you from heaven. 

Finally, the leprosy is incurable. There is not a 
single recorded or remembered exception to the law 
that leprosy is incurable by natural agencies. If ever 
a leper was cured, it was by the exercise of miraculous 
power. There is no pill, or plaster, or lotion, or oint- 
ment; no herb, or mineral; no decoction, or solution, 
or extract, which has the least power to stay the course 
of this fell disease, or mitigate its fearful pains. He 
who has the leprosy must die a leper. You can not 
cure a leper, any more than you could make a new 
man out of the dust of the ground. 

Sin is incurable. No man was ever saved from a 
sinner's doom but by miraculous power. Sin can 
not be cured by nature. Art, science, and law have 
no medicine which will eradicate the virus of sin from 
the soul of man. Sin can not be cured by the power 
of the will, or by self-denial, or by ceremonies, or by 
sacraments, or by good works. The sinner may dress 
himself up in the robes of respectability and self- 



6o The Wells of Salvation. 

righteousness. He may scrape off some of his bad 
habits by the vigorous use of the Turkish towel of 
culture and education. He may daub himself all over 
with the paint of outward morality. But he is a leper, 
a sinner, still. There are rottenness and corruption 
within. He will grow worse and worse, in spite of all 
that he can do. 

The end of leprosy is a most dreadful death, in 
which the sufferer literally falls in pieces, member by 
member, limb by limb, organ by organ. From the 
beginning to the end, leprosy is a living death. The 
sinner's end is eternal death. 'The wages of sin is 
death." "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." "This 
is the second death." Sin dooms the soul to a death 
which is infinitely more dreadful than the leper's death. 

My friend, unless you have been born again, you 
are a spiritual leper; you have that loathsome, heredi- 
tary, incurable, deadly disease which the Bible calls 
sin. The only difference between you and such moral 
lepers as Ahab, Jezebel, Herod, Caligula, Nero, Lu- 
cretia Borgia, and Henry VIII, is that they had the 
disease in a more malignant form. The disease is the 
same, and, in the same circumstances, you might be- 
come as bad as the worst of them. 

Whether you know it or not, you are a leper, a 
sinner. You may be rich in this world's goods; but 
you are a leper — a sinner. You may be honorable, 
as the world uses that word; but you are a leper — a 
sinner. You may be well-born and well-bred and 
educated and refined, but you are a leper — a sinner. 
You may be charitable and generous and virtuous; 
but you are a leper — a sinner. You may have every- 
thing which men call good and praiseworthy; but you 



N A AM AN THE LEPER. 6 1 

are a leper — a sinner. You may be almost persuaded 
to become Christian; but you are a leper — a sinner. 

What became of General Naaman, the leper? He 
was healed by the power of Israel's God. How did it 
come about? Naaman's wife had, among her slaves, 
a little captive Hebrew girl, whose name has been 
lost; but who, herself, will never be forgotten. She 
knew and loved the God of her fathers. Among for- 
eigners and idolaters, she held fast to the religion in 
which she had been instructed from her infancy. With 
the Spirit of God in her heart, she longed to do some- 
thing which would benefit her fellow creatures and 
glorify her Creator. And so one day — after much 
prayer, we may presume — she said to her mistress: 
"Would God my lord were with the prophet that is 
in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy." 

These strange words, spoken with the help of the 
Divine Spirit, quickly flew across the street to the 
royal palace, and into the king's ear. "Ah!" said 
Ben-hadad, "my general shall go to Samaria." As 
soon as might be, Naaman set out in his chariot, with 
a large and splendid retinue of armed horsemen and 
servants, and mules bearing tents and provisions for 
the journey, and ten suits of costly clothing, and fifty 
thousand dollars in money to pay the doctor. He 
would ask no favors; he would pay for all that he re- 
ceived. 

A journey of about a hundred miles brought that 
gorgeous caravan to Samaria, the capital of the king- 
dom of Israel, and to the palace gate of King Jeho- 
ram. Naaman sent in a letter of introduction, which 
he had brought from Damascus. The king broke 
the seal. The letter was signed, "Ben-hadad, king of 



62 The Wells of Salvation. 

Syria," and read: "With this letter I send to you my 
servant Naaman, that you may cure him of the lep- 
rosy." The king was filled with anger and fear. Turn- 
ing to his officers, he exclaimed, as he rent his clothes : 
"Am I God, with power to kill and make alive, that 
this Ben-hadad sends to me to cure a man of leprosy? 
See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me?" 

While Jehoram and his cabinet were wrestling 
over that tough' international problem, how to send 
back an answer which should avert war, a message 
came from the prophet Elisha, who had heard of the 
commotion at the palace: "Why hast thou rent thy 
clothes? Let him come now to me, and he shall 
know that there is a prophet in Israel." Word was 
passed out of the palace, "Go to Elisha." 

Again the great caravan was in motion. Sitting 
in his gilded chariot in front of the humble dwelling 
of the man of God, surrounded by his armed horsemen 
and all his company, full of pride, Naaman waited for 
the prophet to come out and heal his leprosy. But 
no prophet presented himself. Instead, a servant 
came and spake, in Elisha's name: "Go and wash in 
Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again 
to thee, and thou shalt be clean." 

When Naaman heard these words, he was very 
angry, and gave orders to return to Damascus. 
"What!" said he, "have I, the commander-in-chief of 
the armies of Syria, come all this distance to be in- 
sulted by this contemptible Hebrew fortune-teller? I 
thought that he would come out to me, and call on 
the name of his God, and strike his hand on the place, 
and heal my leprosy. What an insult to send me, 
twenty miles, to bathe in the muddy waters of his 
miserable Jordan. If bathing will cure me, why may 



Naaman the Leper. 63 

I not wash in the crystal waters of my own Abana and 
Pharpar? They are better than all the waters of 
Israel." So he turned and went away in a great rage. 
Why did Elisha treat Naaman so coolly and im- 
politely? Why did he not come out and do what his 
visitor would naturally expect him to do? The an- 
swer is easy. Naaman's soul was as full of pride as 
his body was of leprosy. Elisha saw that his pride 
must be humbled. He knew that the leper could not 
be healed till the sinner was abased. How strange 
that a loathsome leper like the Syrian general should 
be proud ! Yet he was. How strange that the sinner, 
full of moral corruption and spiritual contagion, should 
be proud! What in the world has he to be proud of? 
Yet he is proud. Pride is the essence of sin. Before 
the sinner can be saved, he must crucify his pride. 
He must come down from his chariot of self-exal- 
tation and self-righteousness, and prostrate himself 
in the very dust. You can not be saved, my un- 
converted friend, unless you will consent to do any- 
thing which God may require, or God's people may 
advise. You must be willing to confess your sins. 
You must be willing to ask the forgiveness of any 
person whom you may have injured. You must be 
willing to make a public profession of your accept- 
ance of Christ. You must be willing to go forward 
for prayers. You must be willing to come to the 
anxious seat. You must be willing to kneel at 
this altar, by the side of the poorest man or vilest 
woman in all the town. You must be willing to do 
anything and everything, which is not wrong, in order 
to be saved from your sins. You must be willing that 
God should save you in his own way. If there is any- 
thing which you will not do, you can not be saved, 



64 The Wells of Salvation. 

I knew a young lady who, for nearly three months, 
suffered the intolerable pangs of a convicted con- 
science, because she had said: "I will not go forward 
for prayers." God would not save her till she took 
that back. When she said, "I will do anything," and 
started for the anxious seat, God met her and saved 
her before she got out of her pew. 

Naaman was so willful that he preferred to keep 
his leprosy, rather than humble his pride and go to 
the Jordan and wash. So he turned away, and started 
for home. If he could not have healing in his own 
way, he would not have it at all. There are sinners 
in these days who would rather keep their pollution 
and take it with them to perdition, than to submit to 
be saved in the simple and easy way which Infinite 
Wisdom has contrived. 

But General Naaman had servants who were wiser 
than he. They ventured to approach him in his rage, 
and proffer him their advice. "My father," said they, 
"if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, 
wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather 
then, when he saith unto thee, Wash, and be clean?" 
That is it. If men could earn salvation, wholly or 
partly, by doing some great thing, everybody would be 
saved. But now that eternal life is offered, without 
money and without price, on the easy terms of repent- 
ance and faith, the great mass of mankind spurn it 
from them in anger and pride. Naaman, however, 
was not a fool, if he was haughty and proud. He saw 
the point of the advice which his servants gave. He 
made no reply; but ordered the cavalcade to face to 
the right, and march toward the Jordan. 

O how precious is the counsel of a wise and honest 
friend! If Naaman had rejected the advice of his serv- 






Naaman the Leper. 65 

ants, he would have carried his leprosy back to 
Damascus and down to his grave. If the unsaved 
ones in this congregation would heed the advice of 
their best and most unselfish friends, they would all 
be saved this very hour. 

Let us follow Naaman and his company down 
to the Jordan. The road was twenty miles long. It 
was up and down, through valleys and around hills. 
The general had plenty of time to change his mind 
before he reached his destination. But the old soldier 
had a mind which was not easily changed. By and 
by, from the top of the last hill, he saw the Jordan 
tumbling through the valley. It did not compare in 
beauty to the Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus. 
And yet it was destined to be a thousand times dearer 
to him than either of them. Soon he stood on the 
sandy margin of the stream. Unbelief may have whis- 
pered in his ear: "Do not wash in this river. It can 
not possibly do you any good." The answer of his 
heart was: "I will wash. I believe the words of Je- 
hovah's prophet that I shall be healed." He laid off 
his robes and his armor, and gave them into the hands 
of servants. With bare feet he waded out into the river, 
probably at the very place which, nine centuries and a 
quarter later, the world's Redeemer was baptized. He 
plunged beneath the surface. Reappearing, he shook 
the water from his head and limbs. No change. The 
leprosy was as bad as ever. A second plunge. No 
change! No healing! A third plunge, a fourth, a 
fifth, a sixth! No change! What did unbelief say 
then? What did faith say? The seventh plunge! In- 
stantly he felt that he was healed. Rising, he shook 
the water — from his hair this time. He looked at 
himself. The scabs and scales and ulcers were all 

5 



66 The Wells of Salvation. 

gone. His flesh was as clean and soft and fair and 
white and ruddy as the flesh of a little child. His voice 
came back; and I can not help believing that the old 
soldier, who had shouted ''victory" on a hundred 
battle-fields, made the hills of Israel ring with shouts 
of praise and joyful adoration. 

That river represents the healing streams which 
flow from our Savior's pierced hands and feet and side. 
O sinner, if you will but plunge into the crimson river 
of salvation, you will lose all the leprosy of sin, and 
come out as innocent as a new-born child. The plunge 
that saves is faith. Naaman plunged and plunged, 
till the perfect number seven was reached. You must 
believe in Christ, and keep on believing till you know 
you are saved. 



IV. 

THE CRUCIFIXION. 

"And when they were come unto a place called Gol- 
gotha, . . . they crucified him." — Matthew xxvii, 33, 35. 

D ETWEEN the hours of eight and nine, on Friday 
• morning, Jesus was led from Gabbatha to Gol- 
gotha. The word Gabbatha means a "pavement." It 
was the Mosaic or tessellated floor on which the chair 
of a Roman judge was placed. Seated in his chair on 
Gabbatha, in the old palace of Herod on Mount Zion, 
in Jerusalem, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, 
pronounced sentence of death against the eternal Son 
of God. 

Golgotha is a Hebrew word, which means a skull. 
The Greek equivalent is Kranion; the Latin is Cal- 
vary. It was the name of a little hill, just outside the 
walls of Jerusalem, so called because of its supposed 
resemblance in shape to a human head, or because it 
was strewed with the skulls of criminals who had been 
executed on the spot. 

Jesus was led forth from Gabbatha, surrounded by 
a company of Roman soldiers, commanded by a cen- 
turion. On the way they halted in front of a prison, 
from which two condemned robbers were draged forth 
to die with the Nazarene. A little further on, three 
crosses and three boards were produced. The crosses 
were made each of two sticks of timber framed to- 
gether. The boards were white, with black letters, 

67 



68 The Wells of Salvation. 

telling a culprit's name and crime. On the shoulders 
of each man a cross was placed, and a board was sus- 
pended over his breast by means of a cord around his 
neck. 

Look at that mournful procession as it moves 
along! First we see a squad of soldiers. Then come 
the condemned, with two soldiers on either side of 
each. Behind these march the rest of the military 
detachment. Look at the soldiers! They wear iron 
breast-plates and helmets, and shields of brass, and 
carry long spears in their hands, and short, stout 
swords at their sides. They manifest no more pity 
for the condemned than do the paving stones on which 
they tread. See the robbers ! They are brutal-looking 
wretches, who seem to have pursued a long course 
of crime and bloodshed. Behold Jesus! He can hardly 
move under his heavy load. He staggers as though 
he would fall. His garments are torn and stained 
with blood. His feet are bare, and leave bloody 
splashes on the stones. A crown of thorns has been 
pushed hard down upon his head, making deep wounds, 
from which ooze drops of blood which trickle down 
his face and neck. His cheeks are bruised and bleed- 
ing. His hair and beard are streaked with spittle, and 
matted with blood and dirt. His face is pale and 
sorrowful, but calm and sweet. No sound escapes his 
lips, either of anger or complaint. 

Behind the soldiers, and pressing up on either side, 
so as to get a look or hurl an insult at Jesus, is an 
immense crowd of people. The millions of Jerusalem's 
citizens and Passover visitors seem to be in the streets. 
There are the priests and Levites, with the high priest 
at their head, gloating with fiendish glee over the 
downfall and shame of their hated rival. There are 



The Crucifixion. 69 

the members of the Sanhedrin, who condemned him 
to death, but had not the power to execute their sen- 
tence. They laugh for joy to see the Nazarene in the 
hands of Roman executioners. There few Jews who 
hold no office — Jews from Judea, Jews from Antioch, 
Jews from Alexandria, Jews from Rome, Jews from 
Spain, Jews from Britain, Jews from the ends of the 
earth. The whole Jewish race has risen up to bathe 
its hands in the blood of the Lamb of God. There is 
the city mob, boiling and raging like a stormy sea 
casting up mire and dirt. There are servants and 
camel-drivers and market-men and menials and thieves 
and gamblers and cut-throats and every shade of pov- 
erty, ignorance, fanaticism, brutality, and vice. That 
countless multitude seems to have one huge abysmal 
throat, like the throat of some enormous wild beast, 
and through its open jaws it hoots and bellows and 
yells and hisses and screams: "Away with this King 
of the Jews ! Death to the defiler of the Temple ! Kill 
the blasphemer of God! Crucify him! crucify him!" 

Jesus is alone. Here and there in the skirts of the 
throng is a man or woman who feels, but dares not 
express, sympathy for his anguish and shame. He 
who used to minister consolation to every form and de- 
gree of sorrow, has no one to wipe the sweat from his 
brow or whisper words of pity in his ear. The Son 
of God must suffer alone for the sins of the world. 

Suddenly the procession stops. The soldiers face 
about, and press the crowd back with their leveled 
spears. The Nazarene has fallen. For twelve hours 
he has not had a wink of sleep, a morsel of food, or a 
moment of rest. He has been dragged about the 
streets, abused by the rabble, mocked by the soldiers, 
and has just undergone the hideous torture of the 



70 The Wells of Salvation. 

scourge. Exhausted nature gives way, and he sinks 
fainting to the ground. 

No one of the soldiers will carry the polluted cross. 
Jesus can not bear the heavy weight. What shall be 
done? They see a man named Simon, coming in 
from the country, a friend of the condemned. Com- 
manded by the soldiers, he picks up the fallen cross, 
and bears it after Jesus. Behold the picture: Simon 
the Cyrenian bearing the cross on which the world's 
Redeemer is to die! The multitude deems him dis- 
graced. But to me his seems the highest honor ever 
conferred on mortal man. To bear the cross after 
Jesus is a greater honor than to wear the crown of the 
mightiest empire on the globe. 

From Gabbatha to Golgotha, so far as we know, 
Jesus spoke but once. On the ro'ad-side he saw a 
group of women, who were filling the air with loud 
lamentations and wailings. Touched with their ex- 
pressions of sympathy, he said: "Daughters of Jeru- 
salem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and 
for your children. For behold the days are coming in 
the which they shall say, Blessed are the childless. 
For if they do these things in the green tree, what 
shall be done in the dry?" 

Soon the ghastly hill of Golgotha was reached. 
The crosses were flung upon the ground near three 
holes, which had been dug to receive the bases. 
The soldiers cleared a circle around them with their 
spears, and preparations were at once made for the 
execution of the condemned. Let us fasten our men- 
tal vision on those crosses, and try to think what cruci- 
fixion must have been. 

Crucifixion was the most diabolical invention of 



The Crucifixion. 71 

a dark and bloody age. Compared with crucifixion, 
death by hanging, or beheading, or poisoning, would 
be almost a positive pleasure; while to be roasted at 
the stake would be a milder and more merciful punish- 
ment. Crucifixion was of Eastern origin. It was in- 
vented by a woman — Semiramis, queen of Nineveh. 
The Assyrians practiced it centuries before the be- 
ginning of our era. From them it spread to the Per- 
sians, Egyptians, Carthaginians, Greeks, and Romans. 
Alexander the Great borrowed it of the Phoenicians, 
and practiced it upon two thousand of their citizens 
whom he captured in the siege and fall of Tyre. Cras- 
sus introduced it to the Romans by lining the road 
from Rome to Capua, a distance of one hundred and 
twenty-five miles, with crucified slaves captured in a 
servile insurrection. The Emperor Augustus made 
it a legal mode of execution, by crucifying six thou- 
sand prisoners of the serf class taken in one of the civil 
wars. It was never a Jewish punishment. The mild 
and merciful religion of Jesus has made such cruelty 
impossible among civilized nations. But it was in per- 
fect keeping with the fiendish cruelty and brutal taste 
of the old Romans. And yet they set it apart for the 
worst criminals, highway robbers, pirates, rebels, and 
slaves who had committed shameful crimes. 

The victim of this hellish torture, having been 
scourged till covered with blood, was stripped and 
nailed to the cross, and lifted up between the earth and 
heaven, to die by inches. Usually death did not come 
till several days had passed. Criminals have been 
known to drag out more than a week of unspeakable 
agony on the cross. 

Death by crucifixion seems to have contained in 



72 The Wells of Salvation. 

itself everything which is ghastly and horrible in 
every other form of death. The unnatural position 
made the slightest movement perfect torture. The 
lacerated nerves and muscles throbbed with fiery 
agony. The wounds, undressed and irritated by the 
cruel nails, became inflamed and corrupt. The arteries 
and veins, swollen and surcharged with blood, were 
turned into avenues, along which the galloping cours- 
ers of unutterable pain flew back and forth between the 
heart and the extremities. Above all these were added 
the pangs of burning fever and raging thirst. To- 
gether, these horrors made death, usually so dreadful 
to human kind, seem the sweetest of pleasures. The 
criminal, utterly wretched, compelled to endure an 
anguish too awful for man to bear, conscious to the 
last, would entreat the spectators and executioners, 
with heart-rending cries, to put an end to his misery 
by bestowing the priceless boon of death. 

To such a shameful and excruciating punishment 
our blessed Redeemer submitted himself, for your sake 
and for mine. In the eyes of that vast concourse of 
people, the brutal and blasphemous executioners 
stripped off his garments, leaving but a cloth around 
the loins. Then they threw him upon the cross on 
his back, and stretched out his arms along the trans- 
verse beam. Then they drove a large spike through 
each palm, deep into the wood. Next they drew up 
the legs till the soles of the feet lay flat on the upright 
beam, one above the other, and one long spike was 
driven through them both. Last of all, the cross, with 
its writhing burden, was lifted from the earth, and its 
base rudely dropped into a deep hole with an awful 
thud, which brought the entire weight of the body 
upon the nails, tearing the tender hands and feet, and 



The Crucifixion. 73 

sending a thrill of extremest agony through every 
limb and nerve. 

It was at this point that the Savior uttered the first 
of his eight recorded sentences on the cross. What did 
he say? What would you expect him to say at such 
a time, and in the hearing of such an assembly? Did 
he pour out curses and maledictions on his enemies, 
the authors of his cruel pains? Did he consign the 
infamous Pilate and the more infamous Caiaphas to 
the hell where they deserved to go? Did he utter a 
cry of agony, or a prayer for relief? No! No such 
words escaped his blessed lips. He prayed for his 
enemies. He lifted his eyes to heaven, and said: 
"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they 
do." At the instant of his keenest suffering, he prayed 
for the soldiers, who drove the nails; for Pilate, who 
signed his death-warrant; for the priests and Pharisees, 
who hounded Pilate on to the commission of a crime 
from which — heathen though he was — he shrunk; for 
Jerusalem, whose millions so eagerly thirsted for his 
blood. Who but a God could forgive like that? 

One slight mitigation was granted to the suffer- 
ings of the victim of the cross. A cup of wine, mingled 
with some stupefying drug, was presented to the lips 
of the condemned, to blunt the sharp edge of his pain. 
This Jesus refused. He would have nothing to cloud 
his mental vision. He would look the King of Terrors 
straight in the face, and suffer for us all that the cross 
could inflict. 

Meanwhile the thieves had received their cruci- 
fixion, and the holiest Man who ever lived "was num- 
bered with the transgressors," as God had said he 
would be seven hundred years before. 

The next act in that bloody drama was the affixing 



74 The Wells of Salvation. 

of the title above the sufferer's head. This was done, 
and the multitudes mockingly read: "This is Jesus 
of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." 

When we are in severe pain, it is a great relief and 
consolation to have some friend to stand by our side, 
to wipe the sweat from our brow, and breathe words of 
love and sympathy in our ear. This was denied the 
Son of God. He could see no friendly human face. 
No angel was permitted to come to his help. All 
about him were his enemies, breathing out scorn and 
hatred. They said everything that Satanic malice 
could invent to wound his feelings and to aggravate 
his pains. The rulers and the rabble cried: "He saved 
others; let him save himself, if he be the Christ." The 
soldiers offered him their sour wine, in mockery of 
his kingship, saying: "Ha, ha! save thyself if thou 
be the King of the Jews!" The chief priests, with the 
high priest at their head, had sunk so low that they 
could taunt their fallen foe, and shout with devilish 
glee: "He saved others; himself he can not save. Let 
Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, 
that we may see, and we will believe him. He trusted 
in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: 
for he said I am the Son of God." Others, still, wagged 
their heads, and said: "Ah! thou that destroyest the 
temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself! If 
thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross." 

Community of suffering generally makes friends 
of strangers and even of enemies. We might therefore 
expect that the thieves would show some sympathy 
for the innocent companion of their pains. But even 
they hurled insults at his head. They repeated the 
revilings of the mob, and add these bitter words: "If 
thou be the Christ, save thvself and us." 



The Crucifixion. 75 

With what tenderness and affection we take in our 
hands the garments of our departed friends! How 
carefully we preserve the precious relics of those whom 
we love! With what pains the dying sometimes divide 
their ornaments and clothing among those who will 
survive their departure into the land of shadows ! What 
was done with the garments of Jesus? Were they 
divided among the twelve apostles? Were they given 
as mementoes of love to the family at Bethany? Were 
they sent, with words of tenderness and sympathy, to 
the mother of the dying man? No. I am almost 
ashamed that I belong to the human family when I 
answer your question concerning the disposition of 
the raiment of our blessed Redeemer. Those blood- 
smeared villains, who had driven the nails through 
the sacred Sufferer's hands and feet, sat down under 
the shadow of his cross and gambled for his clothes. 
The outer robe they ripped up into four pieces, and 
each man took one. But the inner garment, which, 
like the robes of the priests, was woven without seam, 
became the property of him who beat his fellows in 
a game of dice. Thus the devil, the father of all gam- 
blers, sought to add bitterness to the Savior's cup. 
But unwittingly he fulfilled a prophecy more than a 
thousand years old : "They parted my garments among 
them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots." 

Meanwhile the fierce rays of an almost tropical sun 
beat down upon the crosses, increasing the fever of the 
inflamed wounds, and enkindling the tortures of a 
raging thirst. But no word of complaint escaped the 
Sufferer's lips. With the most sublime heroism and 
patience he drained to the dregs the cup which our 
sins pressed to his mouth. 

As the day advanced, the Jews grew tired of their 



76 The Wells of Salvation. 

mockery and derision, and began to stream back into 
the city. Then some of the Nazarene's friends dared 
to draw near the cross. They were John, his beloved 
apostle, and Mary his mother, and Mary his aunt, and 
Mary of Magdala. Of all the world, these four were 
the only ones who had courage to show pity to the 
crucified Redeemer — a John and three Marys. O, how 
those names, John and Mary, were honored that hour ! 
If your parents gave you one of those names, you 
ought to consider yourself highly honored; and feel 
bound, by your name, to stand as close to the cross 
as you can. Do not disgrace your name by being 
anything less than a whole-hearted disciple of your 
crucified Master. Jesus saw and recognized his 
friends. But he did not ask help or comfort from 
them. He seemed to forget himself in his solicitude 
for their welfare and comfort. Fastening his drooping 
eyes on his mother, and then on his disciple, he said: 
"Woman, behold thy son!" and "Behold thy mother!" 
The words were understood; and from that time forth, 
John was a dutiful son to Mary, and she was a mother 
to him. 

Jesus was nailed to the cross at nine o'clock in the 
morning. At noon, a supernatural and awful dark- 
ness gathered over Golgotha and Jerusalem and the 
surrounding country. It seemd as though nature 
sympathized with her suffering Lord and Creator, and 
the sun refused to behold the death of the Light of the 
world. The darkness lasted till three o'clock. 

As the end drew near, one of the thieves, writhing 
on the nails, twisted himself around toward the middle 
cross, and began again. to curse the Nazarene. The 
other, who, hours before, had helped him curse, now 
rebuked him, in the name of God, and confessed the 



The Crucifixion. , 77 

justice of their punishment. Then turning his dying 
eyes toward the Savior, he prayed: "Lord, remember 
me when thou comest into thy kingdom." The prayer 
was very short; but into it the dying man put all his 
soul and all his trust. Jesus heard. The Great High 
Priest knew the penitent's heart, and instantly granted 
the absolution which he sought: "Verily I say unto 
thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in paradise." The 
cross had won its first trophy; and the agonizing Re- 
deemer rejoiced over the first-fruits of a mighty har- 
vest, which the on-coming ages would yield to the 
labors of his soul. That moment he began to "see of 
the travail of his soul" and to be satisfied. 

Christ's sufferings on the cross were not merely 
physical. He did not suffer just as an ordinary man 
would in his place. He suffered more than the thieves. 
They suffered, each for himself. Jesus suffered for 
every human being who had ever lived, or ever should 
live. He suffered all through the years which preceded 
his death. The cross was only the climax of a long 
martyrdom. Just what his sufferings were we can 
not understand. But the Book says : "The Lord hath 
laid on him the iniquity of us all." He bore the weight 
of the accumulated guilt of the human race. All the 
sins and crimes and shames and abominations which 
the human family had committed since Eve looked at 
the forbidden fruit, and all which should be committed 
down to the end of time, were heaped together and 
piled up on Jesus' crushed and bleeding heart. In 
that mountain-like mass were your sins and mine. 
On the cross his pains were as though this great, 
round world, eight thousand miles in diameter, and 
twenty-five thousand miles in circumference, had 
been hung to his hands, pulling the lacerated nerves 



^mmm 



78 The Wells of Salvation. 

down upon the rugged nails. We can hardly begin 
to imagine what he suffered. But the bitterest part of 
his bitter cup was yet to be drank. Hitherto his 
Father's presence had been with him every moment. 
No cloud had ever come between him and Heaven. 
In all his weariness and persecution and rejection and 
derision and mental and physical anguish, his human 
soul had felt the rich joy of communion with God. 
Even in Gethsemane, when he almost died of sorrow, 
the Father was with the Son. But now the Father's 
presence must be withdrawn. The Redeemer must 
taste the pains of hell. He takes the sinner's place. 
Therefore he must suffer as the sinner would, cut off 
from God and banished to dark despair. And so the 
Father turned away his face. Abandoned by his 
friends, abandoned by the world, he was now aban- 
doned by his God. Such agony then was his as the 
universe had never known, and never can know again. 
It was worse, by far, than hell. The agony of hell is 
the agony of a sinful soul cast off from a God who is 
not loved. The agony of Jesus was the agony of a 
holy soul utterly deserted by a God who was perfectly 
adored. This subject is too deep for us. We must 
check our words, and only think. We must keep 
ourselves to the inspired account. Suddenly an awful 
cry of anguish burst from the Savior's lips: "Eli, Eli, 
lama sabachthani — My God, my God, why hast thou 
forsaken me?" The next instant he spoke the only 
word of physical suffering which his long tortures 
were able to extort: "I thirst!" Some one among the 
spectators, who had a spark of mercy in his soul, ran, 
and, dipping a sponge in a vessel of sour wine which 
the soldiers had, raised it to his mouth on the end of 
a reed. The rest, misunderstanding his words, cried, 



The Crucifixion. 79 

"Let him alone, let us see whether Elijah will come to 
take him down!" 

In a moment more, all was over. The light of his 
Father's face returned. With a loud voice, as if utter- 
ing a shout of victory which should resound through 
all the succeeding ages, he cried: "It is finished!" Then 
more gently he added: "Father, into thy hands I com- 
mend my spirit." Then a shudder passed through his 
frame. His head sunk upon his breast, and he was 
dead. The great scheme of redemption was fully 
accomplished. The old dispensation was ended; the 
new was begun. The dividing wall between Jew and 
Gentile was broken down. The Aaronic priesthood 
was abolished. Henceforth every member of the hu- 
man family could come for himself into the immediate 
presence of God. 

That moment the priest, who had gone into the 
holy place in the temple to burn the incense of the 
evening sacrifice on the golden altar, witnessed a 
startling sight. Before him hung the great veil of 
purple and gold, dividing the holy from the most holy 
place, sixty feet high and thirty long. Instantly it 
was split in two, from the top to the bottom. With- 
out, still more awful things were seen. A mighty earth- 
quake shook the ground. The rocks around Golgotha 
were rent and split into yawning chasms. Many 
graves were opened. The bodies of many dead saints 
were cast forth in the sight of the frightened people, 
who, three days after, recognized them walking the 
streets of the sacred city. All who saw these exhi- 
bitions of Divine power were greatly moved. The 
soldiers about the cross were filled with fear. The iron- 
faced centurion cried out: "Certainly this was a right- 
eous man! This was the Son of God!" The people 



80 The Wells of Salvation. 

who had been looking on to see the Nazarene die, 
were sobered by the earthquake, and returned to the 
city conscience-stricken, wailing and beating their 
breasts. Perhaps they began to see that they had 
insulted and murdered the Son of God, the Hope of 
Israel. 

Jesus was dead. What, in the purpose of God, 
was to be done with his corpse? According to Roman 
law the bodies of the crucified were left to rot on the 
cross, or to be devoured by vultures and crows. That 
could not be the case with the body of Jesus; for 
prophecy had said that he should make his grave with 
the rich, and the Jewish law forbade that the dead 
body of a criminal should hang over night. The priests 
forgot the prophecy, but remembered the law. Those 
strange men, who had not shrunk from bathing their 
hands in the blood of the immaculate Son of God, 
were so conscientious that they could not let the corpse 
of their murdered victim stay above ground over night, 
lest the holy city and temple should be defiled. So they 
went to Pilate, and begged him to have the three bodies 
removed. Pie ordered the soldiers to do as the Jews 
desired. Finding the thieves alive, they hastened their 
death by breaking their legs with an iron mallet. 
When they came to Jesus they found him already dead. 
So they did not break his legs, thus fulfilling a proph- 
ecy fifteen hundred years old: "A bone of him shall 
not be broken." But one of the soldiers, to make as- 
surance doubly sure, raised his spear and drove the 
broad head deep into the Savior's side. Immediately 
two streams gushed forth from the wound — one of 
blood, the other of water; and that heathen spearman 
fulfilled another of the sayings of God: "They shall 
look on him whom they pierced.' , 



The Crucifixion. 8i 

Many have asked what was the immediate cause of 
Jesus' death. That a man, in the prime of life and in 
perfect health, should die when he had hung on the 
cross but six hours was an unheard-of thing. Pilate 
could not believe that he was dead. It is certain that 
the mere crucifixion did not kill him. The mingled 
flow of blood and water seems to solve the mystery. 
The solution is this: Around the heart is a sack, called 
the pericardium. When, from any cause, the heart 
is ruptured, the blood, flowing out into the pericar- 
dium, is separated into two fluids — a colorless fluid like 
water, and a deep red fluid like blood itself. The ex- 
treme mental angony which the Savior suffered rup- 
tured the heart, and caused the blood to flow into 
the surounding sack. Thence the two fluids escaped 
through the wound made by the spear. This is the 
opinion of many eminent scientists. So Jesus, liter- 
ally, died of a broken heart ! 

Here is a thought for you, dear friend: Your sins 
and mine broke our Savior's heart. Let us loathe our 
sins, which caused such grief. Let us turn our eyes, 
bathed in penitential tears, to Jesus hanging on the 
cross, and pray: 

" Let the water and the blood, 
From thy wounded side which flowed, 
Be of sin the double cure, 
Save from wrath and make me pure." 

Meanwhile many loving hearts and willing hands 
had gathered around the cross. Among them was a 
wealthy and honorable counselor, named Joseph, of 
Arimathea, who carried a permit from Pilate to re- 
move the body of Jesus. Nicodemus also was present; 
and we know not how many more. Tenderly, lovingly, 

6 



82 The Wells of Salvation. 

they took down the cross, and drew out the nails, and 
composed the wrenched limbs, and closed the gaping 
wounds, and washed away the blood, and wrapped the 
precious body in a new linen cloth with a hundred 
pounds of spices and drugs. Where should it be 
buried? Near Golgotha was a garden, the property 
of Joseph. In the garden was a new tomb, which 
had been hewn out in the rock for the last resting- 
place of the owner himself, when God should call him 
away. There the bruised body of the Redeemer should 
lie. While the last rays of the sun were shining 
through the trees, Joseph's tomb received its precious 
treasure; and a huge stone was rolled against the 
entrance. The men departed. But the women could 
not leave the spot. In the gathering twilight, Mary 
Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joses 
sat as mourners before the tomb, and wept for him 
whom they deemed forever lost to Israel and to them. 
Slowly the great, full, Passover moon rose over Olivet, 
and looked into the garden. But the women and the 
moon were not long alone. Soon harsh voices and 
heavy steps and the clank of armor were, heard, and 
the glint of torches was seen through the trees. The 
women fled in terror; and sixteen mail-clad legion- 
aries, armed with swords and spears, stood before the 
tomb. They had been sent by Pilate, at the urgent 
request of the Jews', to guard the dead and prevent a 
counterfeit resurrection. Surely they would be enough 
to suppress the insurrection of a corpse. First, they 
sealed the stone with wax or clay, and stamped the 
yielding mass with the governor's signet ring. Then 
they posted themselves as sentinels, and prepared to 
pass the night. Jesus was dead and buried. Pilate was 
glad to be rid of a troublesome case. The priests and 



The Crucifixion, 83 

Pharisees held jubilee over the fall of their hated rival. 
The rabble caroused with Barabbas, whom they had 
preferred to the Son of God. The disciples were 
plunged in dark despair. The devils were happy. 
Hell seemed to be victorious. Then angels rejoiced, 
because they knew that man was redeemed. 

That was Friday night. Sunday morning two 
angels leaped from the throne of God into Joseph's 
garden. Instantly an earthquake shook the place, 
opening the tomb, and Jesus walked forth alive. He 
showed himself to his disciples ten times in the space 
of forty days, and then went to heaven in a cloud. 
There he stands to-day before the Father's throne, 
showing his wounded hands and feet and side, inter- 
ceding for us. 

" Five bleeding wounds tie bears, 

Received on Calvary; 
They pour effectual prayers, 

They strongly plead for me : 
' Forgive him, O forgive,' they cry, 
- Nor let that ransomed sinner die.' " 

What does the crucifixion mean to you? It 
means eternal life, if you will believe. It means eter- 
nal death, if you will not believe. There were two 
parties in Jerusalem the day Jesus was crucified, and 
only two; there could not have been a third. In one 
party were the few friends who clung to Jesus, and the 
thief who died praying for mercy. In the other party 
were Judas, who sold his Master for thirty pieces of 
silver; and Caiaphas, who delivered him to the Ro- 
mans; and the rabble, who spit in his face, and cried, 
"Crucify him! crucify him!" and Pilate, who signed 
his death-warrant; and the executioners, who drove 



84 The Wells of Salvation. 

the nails; and the thief, who died blaspheming. There 
are two parties to-day; there can not be a third. In 
one party are those who now open their arms and 
hearts, and take Jesus in as their Redeemer, Savior, 
King. All others reject him, and spit in his face, and 
cry: "Away with him! crucify him! crucify him!" To 
which party do you belong? You think that, if you 
had been in Jerusalem that day, you would have stood 
by the side of Jesus in Pilate's judgment-hall; that 
you would have spoken in his defense; that you would 
have wiped the spittle from his face; that you would 
have walked with him to Golgotha. But you do not 
know yourself. That same evil heart of unbelief, 
which leads you to reject Christ in the midst of this 
gospel day, with the record of nineteen centuries of 
his wonder-working power before you, would have 
caused you to stand with Jerusalem's mob demanding 
the blood of the Son of God. This very moment you 
take Jesus to be your Savior from sin, or you are cru- 
cifying him afresh, and putting him to an open shame. 
Your heart either cries, "Bring forth the royal diadem, 
and crown him Lord of all," or "Away with him! away 
with him!" You are either his true disciple, or his 
murderer. Which is it? In the name of God, which 
shall it be? 



V. 

THE CLEANSING BLOOD. 

" If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have 
fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, 
his Son, cleanseth us from all sin." — i John i, 7. 

'T'HERE are very few things which we, earth-born 
* mortals, positively know. Probably that of which 
we can most confidently say, "I know," is the fact of 
our own existence. We know, beyond the shadow 
of a doubt, that we are. Next to our own existence, 
there is nothing more certain than the existence of 
sin in the world. We know that sin is, and that sin is 
in this world. 

And yet there are persons so deluded, or so dis- 
honest, as to say: "There is no such thing as sin." 
As well might a man traveling through an unbroken 
forest, in midnight darkness, say: "There are no trees 
on this continent." A man running his head against 
the trunk of a giant oak, with the words, "There are 
no such things as trees" on his tongue, is like a man 
traveling through this ruined world, saying to himself 
and to others: "There is no such thing as sin." 

Sin surrounds us on all sides, as thick as trees 
in a primeval forest. We run against sin almost every 
time we move. Sin hurls us to the ground. Sin 
batters and bruises and blinds and mangles us. "If 
we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves;" and 
the wounds with which sin has covered us declare 
that "the truth is not in us." There are some who say 

85 



86 The Wells of Salvation. 

that wrong is right in disguise; that error is truth 
viewed from the opposite side; that vice is only an- 
other name for virtue; that sin and holiness are really 
one and the same. But we who believe the Bible, and 
all men whom Satan has not completely enslaved and 
befooled, know that there is a difference between sin 
and holiness as broad as eternity. Compared with 
each other, sin is a serpent, while holiness is a dove; 
sin is a devil, holiness is an angel; sin is darkness, 
holiness is light; sin is bitterness, holiness is sweet- 
ness; sin is disease, holiness is health; sin is pain, holi- 
ness is joy; sin is death, holiness is life; sin is the 
downward, holiness is the upward; sin is hell, holiness 
is heaven. When you have proved, beyond the possi- 
bility of a reasonable doubt, that there is no difference 
between a serpent and a dove, between a devil and an 
angel, between darkness and light, between bitterness 
and sweetness, between disease and health, between 
pain and joy, between death and life, between down 
and up, between hell and heaven, then you may under- 
take to make us believe that there is no difference 
between sin and holiness. 

You run against sin almost every time you move. 
You have business relations with a neighbor. He 
makes a statement to you which he knows to be false, 
for the express purpose of deceiving and defrauding 
you. He lies to you. If lying is not a sin, telling the 
truth is not a virtue. Walking on the street, you see 
a drunken man reeling by, full of alcohol, but empty 
of wit and decency and manhood. If drunkenness is 
not a sin, temperance is not a virtue. Turning the 
corner, you hear a company of roughs firing off vol- 
leys of the most horrid oaths. If profanity is not a 
sin, prayer is not a virtue. Listening to the gossip of 



The Cleansing Blood. 87 

the town, you hear that a man has absconded with 
another man's wife. If adultery is not a sin, chastity 
is not a virtue. Taking up a paper, you read how a 
man, coveting a lady's jewels, enters her house at 
night, and stabs her in her bed. If murder is not a 
sin, mercy is not a virtue. Opening a volume of his- 
tory, you read the story of a battle, in which men, 
"made of one blood," the children of one Father, meet 
on a plain and fight with the fury of demons, till fifty 
thousand mangled corpses strew the ground, and the 
soil is literally soaked with blood. If war is not a 
sin, brotherly love is not a virtue. The world, for 
thousands of years, has been full of lying and drunken- 
ness and profanity and adultery and murder and war 
and a thousand other kindred evils. Therefore we 
say the world is full of sin. Prove to us that these 
things do not exist, and we will believe that sin is not. 
Sin is a terrible fact. The world is darkened and 
stained and blighted and cursed and ruined by sin. 
Sin is the cause of all the world's disappointment and 
pain and shame and sorrow- and degradation and 
death. Sin is God's enemy. Sin is the enemy of the 
human race. Sin is the only thing which can do you 
harm. 

Do you ask what is sin? The word is used in two 
ways. Any voluntary violation of a known law of God 
is what the theologians call ''actual sin." That de- 
praved state of the heart which results from actual 
sin, and out of which actual sin springs, is what they 
call "original" or "inbred sin." What is sin? Sin is 
a viper, which fastens its fangs in the soul, and fills 
the immortal spirit with poison and death. What is 
sin? Sin is a serpent, which twists its slimy coil 
around the soul, and crushes out all its life. What is 



88 The Wells of Salvation. 

sin? Sin is a whirlpool, which draws the soul out of 
the course to heaven, and plunges it down into the 
vortex of eternal perdition. What is sin? Sin is a 
loathsome and incurable disease, which turns all moral 
beauty into rottenness, and kills with everlasting tor- 
ments. What is sin? Sin is a chain, which the sinner 
forges for himself link after link, toiling painfully all 
his days, that, at the last, he may be bound with it, 
and be cast into the prison-house of the damned. Sin 
is the sexton that digs graves for souls. Sin is the 
stoker that feeds and rakes the quenchless fires of the 
bottomless pit. Sin is a siren that lures men into 
her embrace, and then leaps with them into the fiery 

gulf. 

Sin blights the fairest blossoms of youth. Sin 
breaks the hearts of parents, and brings their gray 
hairs with sorrow to the grave. Sin transforms gentle 
children into wolves, tender mothers into tigers, and 
loving fathers into the most cruel of monsters. Sin 
casts the apple of discord into peaceful homes. Sin 
kindles the torch of war, and shakes it over trembling 
cities and States. Sin turns the gentlest and softest 
hearts into granite and steel. Sin hurls reason from 
her throne, and drags down that being who was cre- 
ated in the image of God to the level of the swine and 
to the companionship of devils and fiends. 

There are five great facts about sin which I wish 
to state, and which I ask you to remember. First: 
Sin grows. The first sin which the child commits may 
seem very small. The power of sin over the soul may 
be very slight at the beginning. But the first sin leads 
to a second greater than itself. The third is greater 
than the second. The fourth is greater than the third. 
So the awful series progresses till the sinner is capable 



The Cleansing Blood. 89 

of the most monstrous crimes, and sin becomes a 
habit, binding brain and will and soul as with an 
adamantine chain. At the beginning sin is like the 
slender thread which the tiniest spider spins. At last 
it is like those huge cables with which the largest 
ships bind themselves to their anchors in the face of 
the howling storm. If you would not be bound in ever- 
lasting bonds of darkness and despair, do not let Satan 
twist the spider threads of little sins around your soul. 

Second: Sin deceives. In the days when apostate 
Rome used to torment and murder the people of God, 
the Spanish inquisitors had in their underground 
prison an instrument of torture named the ''Virgin." 
It was exceedingly beautiful to the sight. There stood 
the semblance of a beautiful woman, dressed in richest 
robes, with an inviting smile upon her face, waiting to 
receive with outstretched arms whomsoever should 
approach. The victim of persecuting hate was pushed 
forward to kiss the Virgin, when, suddenly, moved by 
some secret mechanism, the arms inclosed him in a 
deadly embrace, piercing him with a hundred hidden 
knives. Sin is like that image. Sin puts on a beau- 
tiful exterior, and smilingly invites us to take her arm 
and walk with her along the paths of worldly delight. 
But certain death awaits every one who kisses her 
treacherous lips. 

Third: Sin produces moral insanity. The artist 
Hogarth once painted a picture like this: Here is a 
man in a cell, sitting on a heap of straw, chained like 
a wild beast to the wall. He smiles, sings, and laughs. 
He thinks that he is the monarch of a great empire. 
The dark and loathsome cell is his palace. The moldy 
straw is his throne. His tattered rags are a robe of the 
richest purple. The rough keepers, looking at him 



90 The Wells of Salvation. 

through the grated window, are his obsequious cour- 
tiers. He himself is the greatest of kings, the hap- 
piest of mortals. That man is a lunatic. Though he 
deems himself most happy, he is an object of the 
deepest pity to every beholder. Yet he is no more 
insane than the man who, clothed in the rotten rags 
of sin, and bound, hand and foot, in Satan's prison- 
house, calls himself free, and laughs and sings and 
shouts, sitting on the thin crust of time which sepa- 
rates him from the flames of everlasting damnation. 

Fourth: Sin kills. A single sin will kill. One 
little hole will sink the largest ship to the bottom 
of the sea. The stab of a pen-knife in the heart will 
kill the strongest man as surely as a ball from the 
largest cannon. One drop of some poisons will bring 
instant death to the most robust body. One sin, un- 
forgiven, will kill the soul with eternal torments. Sin 
kills long after its commission. The sin which you 
commit to-day may sting your soul with the pangs 
of the second death a thousand ages hence. The 
wound inflicted by the teeth of a rabid dog may heal 
so perfectly as to be forgotten. Many months, or 
even years, may pass, and the man may look forward 
to a long life of health and security. But the virus 
still lurks in the system, and will most surely reappear 
in madness, agony, and a frightful death. Every sin 
which you have ever committed has left a drop of 
venom in your soul, whose certain issue will be eter- 
nal death. 

Fifth: Sin marks, disfigures, and pollutes the soul. 
This is the thought which the text suggests. This is 
the thought upon which I wish to dwell this hour. 
Sin marks, disfigures, and pollutes the soul. Sin is the 
only thing which has this power. Poverty, slander, 



The Cleansing Blood. 91 

persecution, and bereavement can not harm the soul — 
the real man. They only serve to polish and beautify 
his character. But the smallest sin which a man can 
commit will leave an ineffaceable trace upon the im- 
mortal spirit. 

Sin marks the soul. Every sin makes its own mark, 
which neither time nor eternity can remove. An in- 
genious American has invented a machine which sews 
the soles upon boots and shoes almost with the rapid- 
ity of thought. The machine has an attachment which, 
by a combination of wheels and pointers, marks every 
stitch which the needle takes. At the end of many 
months the manufacturer of the machine, who receives 
a percentage upon all the work it performs, or his 
agent, comes and looks at the dial, and ascertains just 
what is his due, to the hundredth part of a penny. The 
owner of the shop can not cheat him out of the value 
of a single stitch, because the machine bears and re- 
veals the marks of its own operations with absolute 
accuracy. Click, click, click, goes the machine, day 
after day and week after week, as fast as steam can 
drive the wheels, and the hand of the skillful operator 
can guide the work, till the storehouse is full of boxes 
of boots and shoes. If you should undertake to count 
the stitches, you would find the task too great for 
your patience or time. They run far up into the scores 
of millions. The operator has no idea of their num- 
ber. But there on the dial, on the machine itself, a 
perfect record can be read. The machine is so con- 
structed that it must mark every stitch which it makes, 
or make no stitches at all. The only way to destroy the 
marks is to destroy the machine. 

Like that machine is the human soul. Every stitch 
which the machine makes represents a sin committed 



92 The Wells of Salvation. 

by the deathless spirit. Every sinful act, word, and 
thought, leaves its mark on the soul. They accumulate 
with such rapidity that the man has no idea of their 
number. But the Infinite Creator and his agents, the 
angels, have only to look at the soul to tell how many 
sins the man has committed since his probation began. 
The soul is so constituted that it must mark every sin 
which it commits, or commit no sins at all. Outside 
of the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is no way in which 
the Almighty can remove from the soul the marks of 
sin but by annihilating the soul. The marks must re- 
main as long as the soul continues to exist. At the 
judgment-day, God will read the record in the hearing 
of the universe, and then reward each man according 
to his works. What can wash away the marks of sin 
is a question of infinite importance to you and to me 
and to every human being. 

Sin disfigures the soul. Every sinful act, word, and 
thought inflicts a blotch, a scar, a wound, upon the 
soul. A certain man had a son who was strongly in- 
clined to the sin of anger. Many times every day he 
would lose his temper, and fly into a rage. His father 
gave him many reproofs, without effect. One day, 
seeing him in a furious passion, he went and brought 
a box of nails and a hammer, and gave them to him, 
saying: "My son, whenever you have fallen into the 
sin of anger, go and drive a nail into yonder post." 
The boy said he would, inwardly resolving that the 
nails driven should be very few. After the lapse of 
some weeks the father and the son met at the post. 
"See here," said the latter, "the top of the post is full 
of nails. What a sorry sight!" "Ah! my child," said 
the father, "that is the way your soul looks in the eyes 
of a holy God. Corresponding with each one of these 



The Cleansing Blood. 93 

nails there is a wound in your deathless spirit." My 
friend, let this thought sink deep into your mind. 
Every time you perform a wicked act, every time you 
utter an unholy word, every time you harbor an im- 
pure desire, you drive a nail into your soul which will 
disfigure and torment for ever and ever. What can 
remove the stings and wounds of sin is the most 
important question which a man ever asked. 

Sin pollutes the soul. Every sin which a man com- 
mits leaves a foul stain, which time only serves to 
render deeper and more enduring. In one of his im- 
mortal dramas, Shakespeare relates the killing of Dun- 
can, king of Scotland, by Macbeth, one of his lords. 
Macbeth was ambitious to be king in Duncan's place. 
Duncan was Macbeth's guest. Urged on by his bolder 
and more ambitious wife, Macbeth stole into the king's 
chamber at night, and stabbed him in his bed. No 
sooner was the hellish deed performed than the 
wretched murderer began to feel the stings of remorse. 
Coming out of the death-chamber into the larger room 
where his Jezebel was waiting to know that the blow 
was struck that should make her queen, he showed 
her his hands covered with blood. "This is a sorry 
sight," he said. Her answer was : "Go, get some water, 
and wash this filthy witness from your hand." Then 
he said: 

" What hands are here ! Ha ! they pluck out mine eyes. 
Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood 
Clean from my hand ? No ; this my hand will rather 
The multitudinous seas incarnadine, 
Making the green one red." 

When Macbeth spoke these dreadful words, he 
did not really mean his hands. A little water 
would have washed them clean. He was looking 



94 The Wells of Salvation. 

through his hands down into his soul. There he saw 
streaks of blood and clots of gore which could never be 
washed away. If every murderer and every fornicator 
and every rum-seller and every drunkard and every 
sinner could see his soul as God can see, it would 
look like Macbeth's bloodstained hands. Every sin, 
whether it be what men call great or small, is a drop 
of blood on the sinner's soul. Some souls are covered 
with putrid gore. 

Imagine to yourself a palace hall. Its floor and 
walls and ceiling are snow-white marble polished to 
the highest perfection. Through windows of purest 
crystal the sun pours in a flood of splendor, making 
the place seem like the throne-room of the King of 
kings. That marble hall represents, to my mind, the 
heart of a little child. Children come into the world, 
I admit, with sinful tendencies. But as to actual 
transgressions, they are as spotless as the sons of light 
who stand around the celestial throne. That marble 
hall represents your soul, as it was when you came 
into this world out of the hands of God. But at the 
moment when accountability begins, the will throws 
open the palace-door to a crowd of demons fresh from 
the infernal realm. In they come and march around 
the hall. Each one carries in his hand a bottle filled 
with a liquid invented and made by the prince of devils. 
As they march around the room, they hurl their bot- 
tles at the walls, and cover them with splashes black 
as ink. When they go out, other demons come in, and 
continue the work, till the beauty of the palace is com- 
pletely spoiled. Those demons represent the sins which 
men commit. The splashes represent the stains of sin 
upon the soul. Every sin which you have ever com- 



The Cleansing Blood. 95 

mitted has left a black and damning splash upon your 
soul. If you could look down into your heart, it would 
present the appearance of that marble hall, once so 
beautiful, covered with blackness and defilement. 
What can wash away the stains of sin is the question 
of questions to us and to all mankind. 

Shall I tell you what can not cleanse the soul from 
sin? Tears can not. If your head were waters and 
your eyes a fountain of tears, so that you might weep 
day and night over your sins, not one of the dismal 
stains would disappear. Could your tears forever 
flow, could your zeal no languor know, these for sin 
could not atone. If you could weep a thousand years, 
you would be no nearer God and salvation at the end 
of that period than at the beginning. 

The waters of baptism will not wash away sin. It 
seems unnecessary to make that assertion, the truth 
it presents is so self-evident to every thoughtful mind. 
And yet there have been millions who have believed 
in baptismal regeneration. There are many who hold 
to the same senseless creed to-day. They say to them- 
selves: "If a regularly ordained minister of Jesus Christ 
sprinkles, or pours, water upon my head in the name 
of the Holy Trinity, or dips my body beneath the 
flood, my sins will vanish, and I shall be clean in the 
sight of God." That opinion is the very depth of 
stupidity and folly. Water can cleanse the body; it 
can not reach the soul. Water applied as a religious 
rite is a beautiful symbol of the cleansing power of 
God previously bestowed. It has no cleansing power 
in itself. If you should make a pilgrimage to the 
sacred Jordan, and one of the apostles should rise 
from the dead, and dip you beneath its waves at the 



96 The Wells of Salvation. 

very spot where the Son of God was baptized by the 
hands of John, you would come up out -of the water 
as vile and sinful as when you went in. 

The whitewash of outward morality will not take 
away sin. Whitewash, at the best, only hides, it never 
removes impurity. External righteousness can not 
change the heart. If that boy had whitewashed the 
post into which he had driven the nails, would the 
whitewash have extracted the nails? If the owner of 
that marble hall should whitewash its ink-smeared 
walls, would he thus remove the stains? The world 
is full of whitewashed sinners. Jesus met many of 
them when he was on earth. They were called Phari- 
sees then. The Great Teacher once said to them: 
"Woe unto you Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like 
unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beau- 
tiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, 
and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly ap- 
pear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of 
hypocrisy and iniquity." 

The fires of hell can not cleanse away sin. It was 
a notion of the ancient Greeks, and of other heathen 
nations, that the sins clinging to souls after death would 
be burned out in the flames of a subterranean lake. 
The Roman Catholic Church stole that notion from 
paganism, and put it into her creed; and wherever 
there is a Romish priest, he tells his deluded followers 
that purgatorial fires will complete the work of 
Churchly sacraments, and fit their disembodied spirits 
for the joys of heaven. In their estimation, fire is the 
great purifying agent in the economy of God. There 
are some who profess great wisdom, and affect to 
despise the superstitious papists, who nevertheless hold 
to this same doctrine of salvation by fire. They de- 



The Cleansing Blood. 97 

clare, with the utmost assurance, that every man must 
suffer for his own sins; that every soul that passes 
into eternity with the stains of sin upon it must suffer 
till those stains are gone; and that then he will be 
permitted, being saved by fire, to enter the abode of 
the Celestial King. Neither the pains of earth nor hell 
can remove the defilement of sin. They rather serve to 
burn sin into the soul in deeper and more indelible 
colors. 

What will cleanse the soul from sin? The text 
answers that question. The blood of Jesus Christ, 
God's Son, cleanseth from all sin. There is nothing 
but the blood of Jesus, in earth or heaven, which pos- 
sesses the slightest power to take away moral impurity. 
There is only one fountain for cleansing in the uni- 
verse. That fountain has been opened to the inhabit- 
ants of the whole earth. It is "filled with blood drawn 
from Immanuers veins." 

The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from sin. A 
pious woman took to her home, to rear and educate, 
a little Irish boy who was deaf and dumb. She set 
herself at work at once to teach him about God 
and sin, and Christ and redemption. The task was 
extremely difficult, from the fact he could neither 
hear her voice nor question her with his own. But 
patient, prayerful labor, under the blessing of heaven, 
bore sweet fruit. "The true Light which lighteth every 
man that cometh into the world" shone into the boy's 
darkened mind. He came to know God, and expe- 
rienced the power of saving grace. He also learned to 
converse by signs and by writing, and became a very 
interesting and instructive companion to the kind lady, 
who had adopted him as her child. One day he gave 
her his idea of the judgment, and how those would 

7 



98 The Wells of Salvation. 

escape condemnation who had faith in Jesus Christ. 
His words were very nearly these: "When I have lain 
a long time in the grave, God will come and call very 
loud, 'Jack!' I shall start up, and say, 'Yes, here is 
Jack.' Then I shall see multitudes standing together, 
and God sitting on a cloud with a large book in his 
hand. He will beckon me to stand before him, while 
he opens the book, and looks at the top of the pages 
till he conies to the name John B. On that page, God 
has written all my sins, and the page was full. So 
God will look and strive to read it, and hold it up to 
the sun for light; but there will be nothing there." 
The lady asked him in much alarm if he had done 
no wrong. "Yes, yes," he answered, "I have com- 
mitted many sins. But when I first prayed to Jesus 
Christ, he took the book out of God's hand, and pull- 
ing from his palm something which filled up the hole 
made by the nail, he allowed the wound to bleed a 
little, and then passed his hand down the page, so that 
God could see none of Jack's sins, only Jesus' blood. 
Nothing being found against me, God will shut the 
book, and I shall remain standing before him till the 
Lord Jesus comes, and, saying to God, 'My Jack,' 
draws me aside and bids me stand with the angels till 
the rest are judged." That little boy's sublime idea 
of the Red Hand was ever before him. 

That is the way to be cleansed from sin. The hand 
of Jesus, covered with his own precious blood, must 
be passed over the dark record of our sinful life, and 
over the darker stains of our sinful hearts, and then 
both the record and the soul will be washed "whiter 
than snow." 

The blood of Jesus Christ is able to cleanse all 



The Cleansing Blood, 99 

sinners from sin. Think of the innumerable stars. 
Multiply their actual millions by as many millions 
more. Imagine them to have been densely populated 
for countless ages by generations of fallen beings. 
There are no figures adequate to the task of repre- 
senting the acts of sin of those separate souls. But 
we are sure of this, that the blood of Jesus would be 
more than sufficient to cleanse all those fallen crea- 
tures, and to absolve every sinner from his unnum- 
bered sins. 

The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from the 
greatest sins. We are informed that there is no power 
in chemistry that can bleach scarlet and crimson rags 
so that they can be made into white paper. Hence 
these are usually made into red blotting-paper. There 
are some sinners like that — scarlet sinners, crimson 
sinners. They have been steeped in inquity even from 
their childhood. What can God do with such sinners? 
Hear his own blessed words : "Though your sins be as 
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they 
be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." There 
is no sin so deep, so red, so damning, but the blood 
of Christ can wash it as white as snow. 

The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin. 
This story is related of Martin Luther, the great re- 
former: One night Satan, the king of hell, appeared 
to enter Luther's room, and with an air of insolent 
triumph displayed a huge roll of parchment which he 
carried in his arms. "What is that?" said Luther. "It 
is a catalogue of all your sins," replied the fiend. The 
reformer leaped from his bed in mortal terror and 
agony. With a burst of derisive laughter the devil 
threw the roll on the floor, and, holding one end in 



ioo The Wells of Salvation. 

his hand, began to unroll its awful length. The fright- 
ened man was compelled to read, hour after hour, 
the damning list of all the sins he had committed in 
all the years of his life. He groaned with agony as 
he discovered every now and then some vile act or 
word which he had forgotten. They were all there. 
How black the ink in which they were written ! How 
long the parchment roll ! How tightly the gleeful devil 
held it in his scaly fingers! He knew that the record 
was correct. There his sins were just as God would 
one day set them before him in the light of a burning 
world. His heart sank within him as he gazed, and 
he bowed his head in sorrow, shame, and despair. 

Suddenly, Satan called him by name, and pointed 
to some words along the top of the roll just where it 
was held in his hand. Luther looked and read: "All 
sin." Then he understood that no one of his many 
acts, or even thoughts, was to be left out. All his 
life was sin. He began to shiver. His agony grew 
most intense. Hell seemed to yawn under his feet. 
Satan kept screaming, "All sin! all sin!" Then he 
added: "So says God, so says God, all sin! all sin!" 

Luther knew something of the Word of God. A 
flash of defiance came into his face. "Where speaks 
God that word?" he cried. He sprang from his bed. 
"In what chapter and verse does God say that?" he 
thundered. "There! there!" answered the devil, "all 
sin! all sin!" The reformer sprang forward and 
snatched the awful list from the tempter's hand, and 
unrolling it one turn more, discovered the remainder 
of the inscription. There was the whole sentence as in 
the Bible: "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son 
cleanseth us from all sin!" So he understood that the 



The Cleansing Blood. ioi 

reason why all his sins had been massed together upon 
that roll was to assure him that they were completely 
covered by the atonement of the Son of God. With a 
glad cry of exultation and joy he awoke, and the devil 
and the roll were gone. 

Have you been cleansed from all your sins in the 
blood of the Son of God? There is a clime where you 
desire to dwell. There is a company of shining ones 
whom you desire to join. John saw that shining band 
when he was on Patmos. "They are before the throne 
of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; 
and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among 
them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any 
more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any 
heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the 
throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living 
fountains of waters ; and God shall wipe away all tears 
from their eyes." "Who are these arrayed in white, 
and whence came they?" was the question in the Rev- 
elator's mind. Here is the answer: "These are they 
which came out of great tribulation, and have washed 
their robes and made them white in the blood of the 
Lamb." You must be washed, like them, in the blood 
of the Lamb, or never stand with them on the sea of 
glass. 

One question more must be briefly answered: 
How am I to secure the application of Christ's all- 
cleansing blood? The text gives an easy answer, 
"Walk in the light!" God has given light to every 
child of Adam. No man is in darkness, unless he has 
willfully plunged into the shadow of sin. Come into all 
the light which God has thrown upon your pathway. 
Walk in that light. Seek more light. Do not try to 



ids The Wells of Salvation. 

hide your sins. Bring them out into the light. Walk 
in the light by faith. And soon you will come to the 
fountain which is filled with blood. Then, washing, 
you can sing: 

"Jesus, thy blood and righteousness 
My beauty are, my glorious dress ; 
'Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed, 
With joy shall I lift up my head." 



VI. 

THE SECOND BLESSING. 

"And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind 
man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took 
the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town ; and 
when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he 
asked him if he saw aught. And he looked up, and said, I 
see men as trees walking. After that he put his hands again 
upon his eyes, and made him look up : and he was restored, 
and saw every man clearly." — Mark viii, 22-25. 

P VERY thoughful person who hears or reads 
*^ these words must ask: "Why did not Jesus do a 
perfect work on that blind man in the first act? Why 
were there two steps in the process by which his sight 
was fully restored?" Other answers may be given, but 
I think the reason was that the Great Teacher wished 
to teach by the best method, the "object method," the 
great lesson that in the normal Christian experience 
there are two distinct stages, two separate degrees, 
two great crises, two definite blessings. When God 
undertakes to save a soul, and is permitted to have his 
way, he performs in that soul two great works, never 
to be performed again; he bestows two great bless- 
ings, never to be bestowed again. There is a first 
blessing; and there is, just as distinctly, a second bless- 
ing. The first blessing is what we usually call con- 
version — that is, justification and regeneration. After 
conversion there is a second blessing. "But," you 
say, "since my conversion I have received a hundred 

103 



104 The Wells of Salvation. 

blessings." I have the advantage of you; I have had 
a thousand blessings since my conversion. But there 
is a definite second blessing, unlike all other blessings. 
After a man has been instantaneously converted, by 
the power of the Holy Ghost through faith, it is God's 
will that he shall undergo a second instantaneous 
transformation, through the same power and on the 
same condition. By two definite and distinct acts, 
and only two, God gives perfect sight to the soul that 
was born in the darkness of sin. 

Why do we believe in the doctrine of the second 
blessing? First, because it is, and always has been, 
held by the Methodist Church. In doctrine, Meth- 
odism, throughout the generations and the continents, 
is one. The great Methodist tree, under w r hich so 
many millions rejoice to sit and eat its fruit, has many 
branches. Without making a careful count, I can 
name sixteen. They differ only in Church govern- 
ment. They do not differ at all in the doctrines which 
they profess to hold and teach. There have been many 
splits from the original Methodist stock, in this country 
and in Great Britain; but there has never been the 
slightest split in doctrine. Go where you will, among 
Methodists, and they believe the same things. 

Xow universal Methodism holds to the doctrine of 
the second blessing. I do not say that every mem- 
ber of the Methodist Church does; but every Methodist 
Church has it imbedded in her creed and standards 
of faith. John Wesley, our founder, and his associates, 
believed in the second blessing. Everywhere he went 
he taught the doctrine, and urged the experience 
upon his followers. December 28, 1770, he wrote 
thus to Joseph Benson: "With all zeal and diligence 
confirm the brethren, first, in holding fast that whereto 



The Second Blessing. 105 

they have attained — namely, the remission of all their 
sins by faith in a bleeding Lord; second, in expect- 
ing a second change, whereby they shall be saved from 
all sin, and perfected in love." October 8, 1774, he 
wrote to a Miss Hilton, of Beverly: "It is exceeding 
certain God did give you the second blessing, properly 
so called. He delivered you from the root of bitter- 
ness, from inbred, as well as actual sin." January 19, 
1782, he wrote to a friend: "Entire salvation from in- 
bred sin can hardly ever be insisted upon, either in 
preaching or prayer, without a particular blessing. 
Honest Isaac Brown firmly believes this doctrine, 
that we are to be saved from all sin in this life. But 
I wish, when opportunity serves, you would encourage 
him: 1. To preach Christian perfection constantly, 
strongly, and explicitly; 2. Explicitly to assert and 
prove that it may be received now; and 3. That it 
is to be received by simple faith." Only two years 
before his death he wrote: 'This doctrine [the sec- 
ond blessing, Christian perfection] is the grand 
depositum which God has lodged with the people 
called Methodists, and for the sake of propogating this 
chiefly he appears to have raised us up." 

I might fill this sermon, and a dozen more, with 
quotations to show that Wesley, and nearly all the 
great lights of early and later Methodism, firmly 
held and clearly taught the doctrine of the second 
blessing. Only last May, in their address to the 
General Conference, our sixteen bishops said: "As a 
Church we have taught from the beginning that be- 
lievers have power to become the sons of God, be 
made partakers of the Divine nature." That is the 
first blessing. In the next sentence they say: "We 
have insisted on the glorious privilege and duty of 



io6 The Wells of Salvation. 

all men becoming saints, of immediately being made 
perfect in love, and of gradually ripening into Chris- 
tian maturity in all faculties." "Immediately being 
made perfect in love" — what is that but the second 
blessing? 

Every Methodist minister who belongs to an An- 
nual Conference believes in the second blessing; at 
least, he is obliged to say that he does. When the 
candidate for full membership in the traveling con- 
nection stands before the president of the Con- 
ference, his brethren, and high heaven, a series of 
questions is propounded to him. The first is: "Have 
you faith in Christ?" That means, "Have you saving 
faith?" "Are you saved?" "Have you been con- 
verted?" "Have you experienced the first blessing?" 
The candidate is expected to answer, "Yes." If he 
should say "No," the ceremony, so far as he is con- 
cerned, would stop. We do not intend to receive 
any man into our minstry, no matter how gifted and 
learned, who has not had a supernatural birth into 
the family of God by the power of the Holy Ghost. 

The second question is: "Are you going on to 
perfection?" That must be answered in the affirm- 
ative. W r e will have no man in our ministry who 
thinks he "got it all at conversion." No man can 
be a true Methodist preacher who holds that there 
is nothing after conversion but an indefinite growth 
in grace. He must believe in Christian perfection 
as an experience to be definitely attained; for the 
question does not say, "Are you going on toward 
perfection?" — like a boy chasing a rainbow; it says, 
"Are you going on to perfection?" — like a man jour- 
neying to a city which he expects to enter. 

The third question is : "Do you expect to be made 



The Second Blessing. 107 

perfect in love in this life?" That is the decisive ques- 
tion. The man who answers "Yes," says, in effect, 
"I believe in a second blessing, to be definitely sought 
and experienced after conversion and before death." 

The fourth question is : "Are you earnestly striving 
after it?" The man who answers "Yes," does the 
same as to say, "I believe in the second blessing, and 
that it is God's will that I should have it now;" for 
no sane man would now be earnestly striving after 
anything which he did not believe he could now ob- 
tain. 

Nothing could be clearer than that every itinerant 
Methodist preacher professes to believe the doctrine 
of the two blessings — conversion and perfect love. 
What would you think of the man who is now address- 
ing you, if, after answering these four questions "Yes," 
he should go through the Church crying out against 
the second blessing, and opposing and persecuting 
those who preach and profess it? Let John Wesley 
answer. In a letter to Dr. Adam Clarke, the great 
commentator, bearing date November 26, 1790, he 
says: "If we can prove that any of our preachers or 
leaders, either directly or indirectly, speak against per- 
fect love, let him be a preacher or leader no longer. I 
doubt whether he should continue in the society, be- 
cause he that could speak thus in our congregations 
can not be an honest man." If that seems severe, 
charge it not to me, but to the spiritual father of 
twenty-five million Methodist members and adherents 
scattered through the world. 

The distinguishing doctrine of Methodism is the 
doctrine of the second blessing; and the special mis- 
sion which God has given to Methodism is to teach 
that doctrine and experience. That is what Meth- 



108 The Wells of Salvation. 

odism is for; and where that is not, Methodism is not. 
If you do not believe in the second blessing, you are 
not a genuine and thorough Methodist. 

The second reason why we believe in the second 
blessing is, that it is taught in our hymn-book. That 
alone would not amount to anything; for the hymn- 
book is not inspired, as the Bible alone is. But it is 
a proof along with other stronger ones. 

The 4S26. hymn in our Hymnal says: 

"The thing my God doth hate, 
That I no more may do, 
Thy creature, I y ord, again create, 
And all my soul renew." 

Notice, "Thy creature, Lord, again create." He 
created us in regeneration. Now we pray that he will 
create us again in entire sanctification, "And all my 
soul renew." The idea is that God partially renewed 
our soul in regeneration, and now we pray that he will 
finish the work and wholly renew us. The second 
stanza explains more fully what the second blessing is: 

" My soul shall then, like thine, 

Abhor the thing unclean, 

And, sanctified by love divine, 

Forever cease from sin." 

The 486th hymn reads: 

" Savior of the sin-sick soul, 
Give me faith to make me whole ; 
Finish thy great work of grace ; 
Cut it short in righteousness." 

"Finish thy great work of grace." God began 
his great work of cleansing in regeneration. Now 
the poet prays that he will bestow a second blessing 



The Second Blessing. 109 

by finishing the cleansing, and do it instantly — "Cut 
it short in righteousness:" 

" Speak the second time, ' Be clean !' 
Take away my inbred sin ; 
Every stumbling-block remove ; 
Cast it out by perfect love." 

At conversion, God said "Be clean," and the soul 
was partially cleansed. Now the prayer is that he 
will say "Be clean" once more, and end the cleansing 
work by taking away "inbred sin," and put "perfect 
love" in its place. The 491st hymn is very familiar 
and very precious: 

" Love divine, all love excelling, 

Joy of heaven, to earth come down ! 
Fix in us thy humble dwelling ; 

All thy faithful mercies crown. 
Jesus, thou art all compassion, 

Pure unbounded love thou art; 
Visit us with thy salvation ; 

Enter every trembling heart." 

There is nothing about the second blessing in that 
stanza. But listen to the second: 

" Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit 

Into every troubled breast ! 
Let us all in thee inherit, 

Let us find that second rest. 
Take away our bent to sinning ; 

Alpha and Omega be ; 
End of faith, as its beginning, 

Set our hearts at liberty." 

"Second rest." What does that mean? Do you 
believe in the second rest? If not, do not sing this 
hymn; or, as one of the denominations which rejects 



no The Wells of Salvation, 

the doctrine of full salvation has done, strike out the 
word second, and put some different term in its place. 
The first rest comes to the soul at conversion. It is 
a partial rest from sin. In the act of entire sancti- 
fication, God gives the "second rest" by taking away 
our natural "bent to sinning," in regard to which we 
often sing: 

"Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, 
Prone to leave the God I love." 

Christ was our Alpha in the first blessing — con- 
version. Here we pray that he will be our Omega in 
our entire sanctification — the second blessing. In the 
third stanza the great poet of Methodism most beau- 
tifully tells what the second blessing is: 

"Come, almighty to deliver, 

Let us all thy life receive ; 
Suddenly return, and never,, 

Never more thy temples leave : 
Thee we would be always blessing', 

Serve thee as thy hosts above, 
Pray, and praise thee without ceasing, 

Glory in thy perfect love." 

The second blessing is the fullness of Christ's life— 
"Let us all thy life receive." It is received instantane- 
ously, not by growing in grace — "Suddenly return." 
It is the abiding presence of the Comforter in the 
soul — "Never, never more thy temples leave." In the 
last stanza the poet continues to tell what the second 
blessing is, and contradicts the notion that it is the 
end of growth : 

" Finish then thy new creation ; 

Pure and spotless let us be ; 

Let us see thy great salvation, 

Perfectly restored in thee — 



The Second Blessing. hi 

Changed from glory into glory, 
Till in heaven we take our place, 

Till we cast our crowns before thee, 
Lost in wonder, love, and praise." 

The 513th hymn is a prayer that God's people, 
those who have experienced the first blessing, may 
obtain the second blessing: 

" Lord, I believe a rest remains 
To all thy people known ; 
A rest where pure enjoyment reigns, 
And thou art loved alone : 

A rest where all our soul's desire 

Is fixed on things above ; 
Where fear, and sin, and grief expire, 

Cast out by perfect love. 

O that I now the rest might know, 

Believe, and enter in ! 
Now, Savior, now the power bestow, 

And let me cease from sin. 

Remove this hardness from my heart ; 

This unbelief remove: 
To me the rest of faith impart, 

The Sabbath of thy love." 

The 542d hymn is a most graphic description of a 
Christian longing and praying for the second bless- 
ing. That it is expected in this life is certain from 
this last stanza : 

" O that I might at once go up." 

He is not praying that he may cross the river of death, 
but the Jordan, which separates the wilderness of the 
merely regenerate state from the Canaan of perfect 



ii2 The Wells of Salvation. 

love. I have not time for comment; I will merely 
read it: 

" O glorious hope of perfect love ! 
It lifts me up to things above ; 

It bears on eagles' wings ; 
It gives my ravished soul a taste, 
And makes me for some moments feast 
With Jesus' priests and kings. 

Rejoicing now in earnest hope, 

I stand, and from the mountain top 

See all the land below : 
Rivers of milk and honey rise, 
And all the fruits of paradise 

In endless plenty grow. 

A land of corn, and wine, and oil, 
Favored with God's peculiar smile, 

With every blessing blest; 
There dwells the Lord our Righteousness, 
And keeps his own in perfect peace, 

And everlasting rest. 

O that I might at once go up ; 
No more on this side Jordan stop, 

But now the land possess ; 
This moment end my legal years, 
Sorrows and sins, and doubts and fears, 

A howling wilderness!" 

The best part of our grand old Hymnal is a sealed 
book to those who reject the doctrine of the second 
blessing. 

The third reason why we believe in the doctrine 
of the second blessing is, that it is taught in the expe- 
riences of many of the great men of the modern 
Church. We will listen to two testimonies — one from 
a Methodist, the other from a Presbyterian. Leonidas 
L. Hamline was one of the greatest men whom Meth- 



The Second Blessing. 113 

odism ever produced. Before his conversion, he was 
a lawyer of marvelous ability. His friends expected 
to see him rise to the highest rank in his profession — 
to a seat with the Marshalls, the Storys, and the Kents. 
In the full tide of success and popularity, he was deeply 
convicted of sin at a camp-meeting, to which he had 
made an afternoon visit. After months of unrest and 
agony, he was powerfully converted, while stretched 
on his face in a farmer's kitchen, with many Chris- 
tian friends praying around him. I have often heard 
the story from the lips of Father and Mother Kent, 
formerly of Lima, New York, now of the New Jeru- 
salem, who were present on that memorable occasion. 
He at once began to preach. Several sinners were 
converted under his first discourse. He became a 
preacher of wonderful eloquence and power. The most 
astonishing results followed his ministrations. Thir- 
teen years after his conversion he was appointed editor 
of the Ladies' Repository. In the General Conference 
of 1844, he delivered a great speech upon the powers 
of the General Conference as related to the episco- 
pacy, which so electrified that body that, eleven days 
after, he was elected bishop, along with Edmund S. 
Janes. He fully justified his elevation to that high 
and holy office. For eight years he traveled through 
the Church, like a great blazing torch, dispelling the 
darkness of sin from thousands of lives, and kindling 
the flames of sacred love in tens of thousands of hearts. 
Thirteen years after his conversion, while widely 
useful and marvelously blest in his pulpit and per- 
sonal labors, and while walking in the full light of 
justifying grace, he was convicted by the Holy Ghost 
that there was in him a proneness to wander; that his 
tempers were not always right; that in his heart were 

8 



ii4 The Wells of Salvation. 

many roots of bitterness "springing up" to trouble 
him. He at once began to seek, with all his might, 
the blessing of a clean heart. He sought a definite 
blessing, definitely and agonizingly, for many months. 
He asked the help of others; he went forward for 
prayers; he consecrated; he prayed; he struggled. 
While on his knees in his chamber the blessing came. 
"Suddenly," he says, "I felt as though a Hand Omnipo- 
tent, not of wrath, but of love, were laid upon my brow. 
That Hand, as it passed upon me, moved downward. 
It wrought within and without, and wherever it moved 
it seemed to leave the glorious impress of the Savior's 
image. For a few moments the deep of God's love 
swallowed me up; all its billows rolled over me." 
From that hour to the close of his moral existence, 
Hamline referred to it as the great epoch of his life. 
Few greater men than Charles G. Finney has the 
Presbyterian Church ever given to the world. He, 
too, was a lawyer. He had a most powerful and mar- 
velous conversion. After hours of seeking and pray- 
ing in the woods, he went into his back office to con- 
tinue his supplications. The place was perfectly dark; 
but it appeared to him perfectly light. As he went 
in and shut the door, it seemed as though he met the 
Lord Jesus face to face. He fell down at his feet in an 
ecstasy of bliss, and lay there for hours. Rising at 
length, and returning to the front room, the power of 
God came on him so overwhelmingly that it seemed 
to him that he should die of joy. He says: "I could 
feel the impression, like a wave of electricity, going 
through and through me. Indeed, it seemed to come 
in waves of liquid love. It seemed like the very breath 
of God. I can recollect distinctly that it seemed to fan 
me, like immense wings." 



The Second Blessing. 115 

And yet that man, after twenty-two years of walk- 
ing in the light, of growth in grace, and of the most 
wonderful success in winning souls, was convicted by 
the Holy Ghost of the need of a clean heart. His wife 
was in a decline, and was doomed to die. He found 
something in his heart which said to God, "No; it shall 
not be." His lips did not say so; his will did not; he 
did not wish to say it. But something in his. heart, 
which he could not control, did. He cried to God to 
take that something out of his heart. He definitely and 
agonizingly sought the blessing of a clean heart. He 
sought for weeks and months. At length he was en- 
abled to take the blessing by faith. He was filled with 
peace and joy so much greater than he had ever known 
before that, as he says in his autobiography, he 
"could not realize that" he "had ever before been 
truly in communion with God." More than twenty 
years after, he wrote: "My bondage seemed to be, at 
that time, entirely broken; and since then I have had 
the freedom of a child with a loving parent. It seems 
to me that I can find God within me, in such a sense 
that I can rest upon him and be quiet, lay my heart in 
his hand, and nestle down in his perfect will, and have 
no carefulness or anxiety." That great man lived 
thirty-two years after he obtained the second blessing, 
and, to the end, preached the doctrine, and bore testi- 
mony to the experience. 

There are thousands of men and women in the 
Church to-day who give substantially this testimony: 
"At such a time and in such a place, after deep con- 
viction and earnest and definite seeking, I was soundly 
and joyfully converted. The devil has never been 
able to make me doubt that fact. So many years, or 
months, after, while I was walking in the light, and 



n6 The Wells of Salvation. 

growing in grace and performing every known duty, 
I was overwhelmingly convicted of my need of a clean 
heart. The Holy Ghost turned his great flash-light 
upon me, and showed me the depths of depravity which 
were in my soul. I cried out, 'Create in me a clean 
heart, O God.' I sought that blessing as definitely 
as I had sought pardon. I sought with intense hun- 
gering and thirsting. I sought long and agonizingly. 
At length I found it by faith. In a moment my agony 
was gone, my thirst was quenched, my hunger was 
satisfied, my soul was deluged with the glory of God. 
The second blessing was as definite and distinct as 
the first, and as much more blessed and wonderful 
as the sun is brighter than the moon." 

What will you do with these testimonies? If they 
do not prove the reality of the second blessing, then 
nothing can be proved by human testimony. If you 
deny the reality of the second blessing, you must deny 
the reality of the first. You must either accept the 
testimony of those , who say they have experienced 
a definite, distinct, peculiar second blessing, or you must 
say there is no such thing as experimental religion. 
It is of no avail to say that yon have not experienced 
the second blessing, that you got it all at conversion, 
and that therefore there is no such thing as the second 
blessing. The testimony of one child, who has ex- 
perienced pardon and regeneration, proves the reality 
of that experience against the outcry of ten thousand 
infidels who say, "I have never been converted." What 
if you have not experienced the second blessing? 
Millions have; and you may, if you will. 

The fourth reason why we believe the doctrine of 
the second blessing is, that it is taught in the expe- 



The Second Blessing. 117 

riences of many Bible characters. I will mention a 
few. There was old Jacob. A more unlovely char- 
acter it would be hard to find. At his birth he had 
hold of his brother's heel. So they named him Jacob, 
supplanter, trickster, cheat. Like his name was his 
nature. He jewed his brother out of the birthright. 
He lied to his blind old father, and swore to the lie, 
and stole the blessing intended for Esau. An object 
of hatred to everybody but his mother, whose dis- 
position he inherited, he fled to a foreign land. The 
first night he lay down to sleep on the bare ground, 
near a city which he dared not enter. He had no 
pillow but a stone — a better one than he deserved. 
But, in his utter wretchedness, God had pity on him, 
and gave him a wonderful vision. There stood a 
ladder. The foot was right at his feet. The top 
reached to the very throne of God. It seemed to say: 
"Vile as you are, you may climb up to heaven." God 
spoke to the wanderer in words of tenderness and 
love. Waking, Jacob said: "Surely the Lord is in 
this place; and I knew it not. How dreadful is this 
place ! This is none other than the house of God, and 
this is the gate of heaven." Jacob was converted at 
Bethel. From that time on he lived a prayerful, godly 
life. Penurious as he was by nature, he religiously 
gave one-tenth of his income to the Lord. His pocket 
was converted, which is more than can be affirmed of 
multitudes of modern Church members. He was a 
better man than many Christians who sneer at his 
piety. And yet his old Jacob nature remained in him. 
It was more or less subdued by the new nature, but 
was not killed. Twenty-one years after he received 
the first blessing, he suddenly came face to face with 



n8 The Wells of Salvation. 

death. As in the light of eternity he saw himself as 
he was. Alone in the darkness, on the bank of Jab- 
bok, he prayed to be delivered from himself. All night 
he prayed, determined that he would not be denied. 
Alone, he was not alone. A man, the Angel of the 
covenant in human form, wrestled with him till the 
break of day. He felt that not to be overcome was to 
have the blessing. His physical strength almost spent, 
in dreadful agony with a dislocated hip, he still clung 
to his Redeemer, with both arms around his neck, 
crying, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me!" 
That was enough. His faith prevailed. The Divine 
One blessed him there, and said: "Thy name shall be 
called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast 
thou power with God and with man, and hast pre- 
vailed." "And Jacob called the name of the place 
Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my soul 
is saved." Jacob received the second blessing at 
Peniel. His after history shows that the old, carnal, 
Jacob nature was killed that night by the power of 
Almighty God. 

King David received the second blessing — at least, 
he sought it — as a definite experience. Read the fifty- 
first Psalm, written after he had returned to God from 
the sins of adultery and murder. Six times he prays 
for pardon (that is the first blessing) and for perfect 
cleansing (that is the second blessing). Hear the royal 
suppliant: "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be 
clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 
Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit 
within me." That is something far beyond conver- 
sion. Because he did not obtain a one-hundred-per- 
cent pure heart at conversion, he was enticed into 



The Second Blessing. 119 

adultery through the lust of the flesh. Now he prays 
for the second blessing — 

" A heart in every thought renewed, 
And full of love divine ; 
Perfect, and right, and pure, and good." 

We know that David sought the second blessing; 
we believe he received it. When he was fleeing from 
Jerusalem, on account of Absalom's rebellion, and 
was going along the way, with the veterans of many 
victorious campaigns about him, a miserable whelp 
named Shimei threw stones at him, and insulted him 
in every conceivable way. One of his generals, 
Abishai, said to him: "Let me go over and take off 
that dead dog's head!" But David said: "Let him 
curse. The Lord has said unto him, Curse David." I 
do not believe that anybody but a wholly sanctified 
man, in those circumstances, could have uttered those 
words and have manifested that spirit. 

The apostles received the second blessing on the 
day of Pentecost. Does any one doubt that? They 
had received the first blessing, conversion, long be- 
fore. Jesus had told them that their names were 
"written in heaven;" three of them had been with the 
Master on the Mount of Transfiguration; and he had 
told the Father that they were not of the world, even 
as he was not of the world. And yet he prayed: 
"Sanctify them through thy truth," and just before he 
went up to heaven he said to them: "John truly bap- 
tized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the 
Holy Ghost not many days hence." Those men had 
previously received the blessing of pardon and re- 
generation. But, on the day of Pentecost, they re- 



120 The Wells of Salvation. 

ceived the second blessing, entire sanctification and 
the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost. 

Cornelius and his military household were justified 
believers when Peter went to them. We have the 
apostle's own testimony that they had received the 
first blessing. But while he was preaching to them, the 
Holy Ghost fell on them, as on Peter himself on the 
day of Pentecost. Certainly that was the second 
blessing. 

You have read of Deacon Philip's great revival 
'at Samaria. After his converts had all been baptized 
and received into the Church, he held a Holiness Con- 
vention, with a couple of brethren from Jerusalem to 
help him. The converts were told by Peter and John 
(that was pretty good authority) that there was some- 
thing for them besides growth in grace; that there was 
a definite second blessing. "And," the Book says, 
"they received the Holy Ghost." 

In one of his journeys, Paul found twelve persons 
who had received the first blessing, under the labors 
of a disciple of John the Baptist. He said to them: 
"Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" 
They answered that that was a new doctrine. They 
did not know what he meant. He did not leave them 
till they did know. Before the meeting closed, "the 
Holy Ghost came on them, and they spake with 
tongues and prophesied." That was the second bless- 
ing. 

The chief reason why we believe in the second 
blessing remains to be stated ; it is directly taught in 
the Word of God. I will not dwell on this point, but 
will give a few texts, and ask the Holy Ghost to write 
them on your memories and hearts. There is Paul's 
prayer for his converts at Thessalonica. They had 



The Second Blessing. 121 

received the first blessing, and were "all the children 
of the light." Yet Paul prayed: "The very God of 
peace sanctify you wholly : and I pray God your whole 
spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto 
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he 
who calleth you, who also will do it." That is the 
second blessing. John writes, in his first letter: "If 
we walk in the light" ("we" there means Christians, 
those who have received the first blessing) "as he is 
in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and" 
(now comes the second blessing) "the blood of Jesus 
Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." Again he 
writes: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just 
to forgive us our sins" (that is the first blessing) "and 
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." That is the 
second blessing. 

Why should we seek the second blessing? First, 
we should seek the second blessing that we may keep 
the first blessing. Some one asks: "Can not a man 
get to heaven on the first blessing?" We answer, 
"Yes." If you have been, and are, born of God, you are 
an heir to a heavenly inheritance ; if you die in the en- 
joyment of the first blessing, you are sure of celestial 
glory. But if you have the first blessing, you want 
everything else which God has for you. If you say, 
"Well, I have the first blessing; I can get to heaven 
on that, and that is all I care for," that way of talking 
proves conclusively that you do not enjoy the first 
blessing. If you have the first blessing, you will long 
after the second, just as soon as it is explained to you, 
so that you clearly understand "how great is" the 
"goodness which" God has "laid up for them that fear 
him." The second blessing is just the thing to clinch 
and fasten the first. This is the "grace wherein we 



122 The Wells of Salvation. 

stand." It is a very great thing to enjoy the first 
blessing uninterruptedly for a term of years; and very 
few persons ever have without experiencing the sec- 
ond blessing. It is a dreadful fact that a very large 
proportion of our young converts backslide. Why is 
it? In many cases it is because they are ours, and not 
God's. But a multitude of real converts lose the bless- 
ing of justification and regeneration, because their 
pastors and class-leaders do not lead them into the 
enjoyment of the blessing of perfect love. A man who 
has experienced the second blessing can fall into sin; 
but the liability is a thousand times less than in the 
case of the man who has got no further than the first 
blessing. 

Secondly, we should seek the second blessing that 
we may grow in grace. God commands us to grow; 
but there is very little growth possible until the weeds 
of depravity are all pulled out of the garden of the 
soul. Few Christians make any real growth in grace 
till after they have experienced the second blessing. 
We have known individuals who have professed to 
enjoy the first blessing for forty years; and yet they 
are no further on in the way than they were the day 
they were converted. The man in the text could never 
have made much use of his eyes, if Jesus had not 
touched them the second time. 

Thirdly, we should seek the second blessing, be- 
cause it is the working degree in the fraternity of 
Jesus Christ. In many of the secret lodges (as I am 
informed) nearly all the work is done in the higher 
degrees. Nearly all real Christian work is done in 
the second degree. You will never accomplish much 
for God and souls till your old, selfish, jealous, envious, 
unbelieving, carnal nature has been killed ; till you are 



The Second Blessing. - 123 

baptized with the Holy Ghost. Peter accomplished 
more for God and souls the first thirty minutes after 
he experienced the second blessing, than during the 
three years in which he had only the first blessing. 
God can not trust you with a large amount of Success 
till you are entirely sanctified. If he should, you 
would get proud ; and the work would be marred, and 
your soul might be lost. Till you get onto the solid 
rock of full salvation, you will need all your time and 
strength to keep your own head above water ; you will 
have little leisure, or heart, to do anything for the 
rescue of drowning souls. That is why Jesus said to 
his disciples, whom he had just commissioned to con- 
vert the world: "Tarry ye in Jerusalem" until ye 
receive the second blessing, until ye be endued with 
power from on high." 

Fourthly, we should seek the second blessing be- 
cause that was the purpose of God in giving us the 
first. If the salvation of the gospel stopped with the 
first blessing, it would be largely a failure. If Jesus 
had not touched the blind man's eyes the second time, 
the world would have pronounced him a failure as an 
eye-doctor. If we try to live on the comparatively 
low plain of the first blessing, the world, judging from 
our defective sight and bad tempers and stumbling 
gait, will pronounce Christ a failure as a Savior from 
sin. You came into yonder vestibule that, through it, 
you might get into this larger room. You had no 
other purpose. Regeneration is the vestibule to God's 
great temple. The second blessing — entire sancti- 
fication, perfect love, the baptism of the Holy Ghost, 
or whatever other name the Bible gives it — is the 
main edifice. God brought you into the vestibule 
that you might quickly enter the inner shrine, and 



124 The Wells of Salvation. 

explore all its wonders and beauties, through time and 
eternity. You linger in yonder vestibule only long 
enough to get rid of the snow, or mud, or dust, or 
rain, which you brought in from the outer world. You 
should linger in the vestibule-experience of pardon 
and regeneration only long enough to shake off all 
that clings to you of the world, by a perfect conse- 
cration, preparatory to entering the second blessing 
by a naked faith in Jesus Christ. 



VII. 

THE BAPTISE OP THE HOLY GHOST. 

" Tohn truly baptized with water ; but ye shall be baptized 
with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." — ACTS I, 5. 

\ I J HEN the disciples saw their Master bound and, 
* ' seemingly, powerless in the hands of his ene- 
mies, they were filled with fear and dismay. When, 
a few days later, they saw him lie a stiffened corpse 
in Joseph's tomb, the last glimmer of hope faded out 
from the sky of their minds. They said to themselves : 
''He was not the Christ; he was a deceiver, or deceived; 
the prophets were liars, or have been misread; Israel 
will never be emancipated and glorified, or we shall 
not live to see the promised day." Sadness, gloom, 
despair settled down upon their minds like an impene- 
trable fog. The fog lasted three days and three nights ; 
but on Sunday morning the fog was dispelled and the 
sun suddenly reappeared. 

When the disciples knew that the Lord had risen, 
their gloom changed to joy and all their former hopes 
revived. "Now," said they to each other, "the king- 
dom will be restored to Israel; now the Roman yoke 
will be broken; now the Messiah will take the throne 
and rule the world with his scepter of power; now we 
shall be princes upon the earth." They waited many 
days to know what his plans would be, and how he 
would perform the work which they had, in their 
minds, appointed him to do. At length they ventured 
to ask: "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the king- 

i 2 5 



126 The Wells of Salvation. 

dom again to Israel?" This was the answer in part: 
"It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, 
which the Father has put in his own power. But ye 
shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come 
upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in 
Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto 
the uttermost part of the earth. Go ye into all the 
world and preach the gospel to every creature. But 
tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem until ye be endued 
with power from on high. For John truly baptized 
with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy 
Ghost not many days hence." When he had thus 
spoken, he was received up into heaven, and they saw 
him no more. 

While the Savior was delivering his valedictory 
address, the disciples must have recalled the words 
which he uttered at the Passover supper, just before 
his crucifixion: "If ye love me, keep my command- 
ments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give 
you another Comforter, that he may abide with you 
forever, even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world 
can not receive, because it seeth him not, neither know- 
eth him. It is expedient for you that I go away: for 
if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto 
you: but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And 
when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, of 
righteousness, and of judgment. The Comforter, the 
Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, 
shall teach you all things." 

This was the view which the disciples had, after 
the eyes of their souls had been opened: "Jesus had 
gone away to heaven, never to return, bodily, till the 
end of the world. They were left behind, not to fight, 
but to preach; not to raise armies, but to found 



The Baptism of the Holy Ghost. 127 

Churches; not to conquer all nations, but to disciple 
all nations. A work of great magnitude and difficulty 
lay before them. They were very weak. As they 
were, they could not begin to perform the labors which 
they were commanded to undertake. But Jesus had 
promised to endue them with power from on high. 
He would send the Comforter, the Spirit of God. He 
would baptize them with the Holy Ghost. They were 
to return to the city of Jerusalem. There they were 
to remain till the promised Comforter should come, 
till they should be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Then 
they should go forth with power, and their labors 
would be crowned with abundant success." 

The disciples obeyed the Master's injunction. They 
returned from the mount of Ascension to the city 
where their Lord had been crucified. They went up 
into the upper room where the Passover supper had 
been eaten. All the disciples, whom an invitation 
could reach, were gathered together. The entire num- 
ber was one hundred and twenty. Some were men; 
some were women. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was 
there. The eleven apostles were present as leaders. 
First, a Church was formally organized by inscribing 
one hundred and twenty names on a register, and by 
the election of an apostle to take the place from which 
the traitor Judas had expelled himself. Then, with 
one heart and one accord, they gave themselves to 
prayer. Each of them took the promise, "Ye shall be 
baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence," 
and earnestly and importunately presented it to the 
Father, demanding its fulfillment in the name of the 
Son. Like an army of unconquerable heroes, they 
besieged the citadel of heaven, while one hundred and 
twenty huge battering-rams of prayer concentrated 



128 The Wells of Salvation. 

their united power upon a single gate. That prayer- 
meeting lasted ten days. Doubtless the petitioners 
paused for food and rest and sleep. But no work 
employed their time but prayer; no thought possessed 
their minds but the promised gift. It was their unani- 
mous resolve that that prayer-meeting should not 
close till the Comforter had come. So they prayed 
Friday and Saturday and Sunday and Monday, and 
on and on through the following week. The morn- 
ing of the second Sunday dawned. It was the day of 
Pentecost, the Feast of Harvest, the Feast of Weeks. 
It was the anniversary of the giving of the law on 
Mount Sinai. It was the fiftieth day after Easter. It 
was the day which the great Head of the Church had 
resolved to make forever memorable by sending down 
the Holy Comforter into the world and into the hearts 
of his people. The disciples had thought and talked 
about the coming of the Comforter, and had prayed 
for the blessed baptism so long, that they were fully 
prepared to receive what the Father was ready to 
bestow. By fixing their minds on the promise and 
on God, and holding them there so long, they had 
emptied themselves of all worldly plans and purposes 
and desires and thoughts; they had emptied them- 
selves of self, and were ready to be filled with all the 
fullness of God. They longed for the blessing with 
unutterable longings. Every heart cried to God: "I 
will not let thee go, except thou bless me!" And so 
they were in the act and attitude of prayer, as on other 
days, when suddenly the place was filled with a mys- 
terious sound like that of a mighty rushing wind. 
At the same instant something which looked like a 
cloven tongue of fire appeared upon the head of every 
one; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. 



The Baptism of the Holy Ghost. 129 

Their prayers were answered. The promise of Jesus 
was fulfilled. They were armed and equipped for the 
conquest of the world. That very day they began the 
work of preaching the gospel to every creature; and, 
before the sun went down, the infant Church was en- 
larged by the addition of three thousand souls. 

What was the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and 
what did it do for those who received it? First, it 
was not the impartation of regenerating grace. The 
story in the second chapter of Acts is not the story of 
the conversion of the disciples of Jesus. They were 
converted before that day. In examining this sub- 
ject we will confine our thoughts to the apostles, and 
let them represent the whole body of disciples. The 
apostles were converted men when they began to pray 
for the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Perhaps this state- 
ment needs no argument. It is almost a self-evident 
truth. Why do we think they were converted men 
when the promise of the Spirit's baptism was given? 
The name by which they were called establishes the 
fact. They were called disciples, the name universally 
employed by the early Christians to distinguish the 
converted from the unconverted. Why were they 
called disciples if they were unregenerated sinners? 
Again, the company they kept shows that they were 
converted men. They were the intimate friends and 
companions of Jesus for three years, beholding all 
his wonderful works and hearing his more wonderful 
words. This intimate association with Jesus must 
have produced one of two results. It must either have 
drawn them into real spiritual union with the Savior, 
or have driven them off into the world. If you say 
that one of the twelve was with Jesus three years, 
and yet was not a converted man, I answer, Judas 

9 



130 The Wells of Salvation. 

was a backslider. Again, the prayer which the Savior 
offered in behalf of the apostles proves that they were 
converted men. Notice some of the expressions which 
he used: "I have manifested thy name unto the men 
which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they 
were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept 
thy word." "I pray for them; I pray not for the world, 
but for them which thou hast given me; for they are 
thine." The apostles had been taken out of the world 
and had been given to the Savior. Were they not 
converted men? 'They are not of the world, even as 
I am not of the world," again the Son addressed the 
Father. ''Father, I will that they also, whom thou 
hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may 
behold my glory, which thou hast given me." The 
apostles were fit to be taken to heaven and to behold 
the Redeemer's glory there. Surely they were con- 
verted men. Once more, the parable of the "Vine 
and the Branches" proves that the apostles were truly 
regenerated. "I am the vine," said Jesus to the 
twelve; "ye are the branches." How were they 
branches in the true vine if they were unregenerate 
sinners? 

They were converted men; they had been born 
again; they were heirs of the celestial glory. It is 
true they were weak and ignorant and erring and im- 
perfect and infantile; but they were the true children of 
God. Therefore the baptism of the Holy Ghost was 
not the regeneration of the apostles. 

Secondly, the baptism of the Holy Ghost was not 
merely the impartation of the Spirit's influence. The 
disciples had the Spirit before. Every regenerated soul 
has the Spirit. To be a Christian is not to be baptized 



The Baptism of the Holy Ghost. 131 

with water; it is not to belong to the Church; it is not 
to profess religion. To be a Christian is to be born 
again. To be a Christian is to be born of the Holy 
Ghost. 

Once more, the baptism of the Holy Ghost was 
not the impartation of more and more of the Spirit's 
influence and power. At one of his interviews with 
the apostles, Jesus breathed on them and said: "Re- 
ceive ye the Holy Ghost." We must believe that that 
prayer was answered ; and yet the baptism of the Holy 
Ghost was something in the future, something not 
yet received, something that was promised, something 
that could not be bestowed till the Son had ascended 
to the Father. 

The promise was that the disciples should be bap- 
tized with the Holy Ghost. The fulfillment is de- 
scribed in the words, "They were filled with the Holy 
Ghost." To be baptized with the Holy Ghost, there- 
fore, is to be filled with the Holy Ghost. The Holy 
Ghost is a Person — a Divine Person. Jesus gave him 
the name "Comforter." He is the Third Person of 
the Adorable Trinity. As the matter presents itself 
to my mind, a man is baptized, or filled, with the Holy 
Ghost when God the Holy Ghost comes, in his per- 
sonality, enters the soul, takes full possession, and 
makes it his home. The baptism of the Holy Ghost, 
in the case of the disciples at Pentecost, was that act, 
distinct from, and subsequent to, regeneration, by 
which the promised Comforter entered, completely 
subdued, and enthroned himself in their souls. 

What did the baptism of the Holy Ghost do for 
those who received it? Study the lives of the apostles 
and see. Before Pentecost, as every one knows, they 



132 The Wells of Salvation. 

• 
were worldly, unsteady, doubting, timid, weak; after 

Pentecost, they were spiritual, steadfast, full of faith, 

bold, strong. Before Pentecost they were worldly. 

They were worldly-minded. They were what Paul 

calls "carnal." They took low, narrow, mean, selfish 

views of things. They thought that Jesus had come 

to set up an earthly kingdom; that his kingdom was 

to be extended by physical force; that they were to 

hold offices of honor and pecuniary profit in the new 

government; that they were to be temporal princes, 

ruling over Gentile tribes. They often disputed among 

themselves as to who should have the highest places. 

They were jealous, narrow-minded, and dull of moral 

comprehension. After Pentecost, they were intensely 

spiritual. They took high, broad, noble, unselfish 

views of things. They saw that Christ's kingdom was 

a spiritual kingdom; that it was to be extended by the 

use of moral means; that love w r as its central idea. 

Henceforth all desire and thought of worldly honors 

and riches vanished from their minds, and they were 

seized with an overmastering passion to go out into 

the world and toil and — if need were — suffer and die 

for the honor of Jesus and the salvation of men. 

Henceforth their lives were hid with Christ in God. 

Their feet were on the earth, but their heads were 

above the clouds. 

Before Pentecost they were unstable. One day 

they seemed to be full of zeal and devotion, ready to 

die for their Master's honor and life. The next day 

they were ready to turn their backs upon Christ and 

return to their merchandise and nets. When he was 

arrested in the garden, they all forsook him and fled. 

Their spiritual pathway was a zig-zag. If they had 



The Baptism of the Holy Ghost. 133 

had a copy of the Methodist Hymnal, they would fre- 
quently have been heard to sing: 

" Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it — 
Prone to leave the God I love." 

After Pentecost they were steadfast. They were 
full of zeal every day. They were ready to lay down 
their lives for God at any moment. From the hour 
when the heavenly baptism came upon them they 
never faltered for a second. Their spiritual pathway 
was as straight as a sunbeam. They pressed right on 
toward heaven in a straight line. The sword, the 
stake, the rack, the cross, awaited their coming. But 
on they went, toward a martyr's death and a martyr's 
crown. 

Before Pentecost the apostles were doubting. They 
had a little faith ; they had much unbelief. The slight- 
est difficulties and dangers would stagger them and 
fill them with dismay. One day they went out on the 
little lake of Gennesaret in a boat. Jesus, being weary, 
fell asleep. Suddenly a terrific storm burst upon 
them. They were filled with fear. They forgot that 
the boat could not possibly sink with Jesus in it, just 
as we, in the midst of the trials and troubles of life, 
forget that we can not be harmed if the Savior is by 
our side. They awoke the Master with the cry : "Lord, 
save us! we perish!" Pie arose and stilled the tempest 
with a word, and then rebuked them, saying, "Why 
are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" At almost 
every step in their Christian pilgrimage they earned 
the rebuke: "O ye of little faith." After Pente- 
cost they were full of faith. Never again did they 
doubt the Savior's power, or the truth of his prom- 



134 The Wells of Salvation. 

ises. They had a faith which shone most brightly 
in the deepest darkness; a faith which silenced the 
threats of wicked men; a faith which wrenched off 
iron chains and burst open prison doors; a faith which 
carried them over mountains and seas and continents, 
through blood and fire and death. They were heroes 
of faith, every one, after Pentecost. 

Before Pentecost they were timid. In times of 
danger they were like a flock of sheep assailed by 
wolves. Peter, the boldest of the twelve, played the 
coward in the most shameful way. Before the arrest 
in the garden, he brandished a sword and declared 
that he would fight for his Master, and follow him 
even "into prison and death." But when the pinch 
came, he ran away with the rest. To save his life he 
denied his Lord, told an infamous lie, and swore to 
the lie. He intended to be true to Jesus, but was over- 
come by fear. After Pentecost, Peter and his fellows 
were as bold as lions. Henceforth they did not know 
what fear was. In the city of Jerusalem they dared 
to face the rulers and the mob, and tell them, to their 
teeth, that they were the murderers of the Lord Jesus. 
When forbidden to preach they continued to preach. 
When brought before the Sanhedrin, and threatened 
with the severest punishment if they did not desist, 
they turned the court-room into a church, and began 
to preach to their judges. When shut up in prison, 
they made the vaulted cells ring with shouts of joy 
and songs of praise. As soon as they were released, 
they returned to their work and proclaimed the word 
of life in the most public places they could find. They 
were so filled with holy courage that if their Captain 
had sent them to the Empire of Hell, to preach the 
gospel to Satan and his confederate devils, they would 



The Baptism of the Holy Ghost. 135 

have gone without a moment's hesitation or the twitch- 
ing of a nerve. They new that God was with them, 
and they could see no reason why they should be 
afraid. 

Before Pentecost they were weak. When Jesus 
was with them they seemed to have some power 
against the kingdom of darkness; but when Jesus was 
out of sight they were like other men. While the 
Master, with three of his disciples, was on the Mount 
of Transfiguration, the others remained at the moun- 
tain's base. A man came bringing his son, who had 
a devil, and besought them to cast the unclean spirit 
out. They could not make the devil obey their voice. 
He did not fear their power. They had no power. After 
Pentecost they were filled with power. All the power 
which was in Jesus seemed to have been transferred to 
them. They healed the sick; they made the lame to 
walk; they cast out devils; they even raised the dead. 
They had mighty power in prayer. When they prayed, 
the heavens bent and the earth shook. They had mar- 
velous power to present the truth so that wicked men 
would quail and melt and believe and be saved. Under 
their preaching, thousands were often converted in 
a single day. So long as the Church retained the 
fullness of the Holy Ghost, the gospel spread from 
heart to heart, and from family to family, and from 
city to city, and from continent to continent, like fire 
in the dry grass of a Western prairie. 

The change which took place in the disciples on 
the day of Pentecost was marked and marvelous. Be- 
fore that day they were as weak as infants, as timid as 
sheep, as wavering as the sea, as changeable as the 
wind, as sluggish as snails. After that day they were 
as strong as giants, as bold as lions, as firm as a rock, 



136 The Wells of Salvation. 

as steady as the onward flow of a mighty river, as 
swift as eagles. The baptism of the Holy Ghost filled 
them with zeal, with fixedness of purpose, with faith, 
with courage, with love, with joy, with holiness, with 
power. 

The promise of the Spirit's baptism is made to 
all. The text is addressed to every one of you. In 
his first sermon, Peter said to his hearers: "Repent, 
and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus 
Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive 
the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto 
you and to your children, and to all that are afar off"." 
Then he quoted the old prophet, Joel: "It shall come 
to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of 
my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your 
daughters shall prohpesy; and your young men shall 
see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. 
And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will 
pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall 
prophesy." In the Apostolic Church every convert 
was made to understand that it was his privilege to 
be filled with the Spirit. Most of them grasped the 
thought, and received the blessing within a few days, 
or hours, after their conversion. Cornelius and his 
household, previously accepted and justified by God, 
received the baptism of the Holy Ghost while Peter 
was preaching to them. You remember how Deacon 
Philip went down to Samaria and brought about a 
great revival. Multitudes were converted. Philip bap- 
tized the converts, and received them into the Church. 
In too many cases we are satisfied when our converts 
have received water baptism, and have had their names 
written in the Church register. We seem to think that 
is all. But not so in the case of that great revival in 



The Baptism of the Holy Ghost. 137 

Samaria. Philip knew that there was something more 
for his converts. He sent up to Jerusalem, and invited 
Peter and John to come down. The converts were 
assembled. The apostles gave them instructions in 
regard to the second blessing, prayed for them, and 
laid their hands upon them; and they were all filled 
with the Holy Ghost. Paul, on one of his preaching 
tours, found some Christians at Ephesus, who had 
been converted under the labors of some minister 
beside himself and his helpers. He questioned them 
as to their religious experience: "Have ye received 
the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" They replied that 
they did not know that any such blessing had been 
promised. When Paul explained the doctrine, pointed 
out the way, and laid his hands upon their heads, 
they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. 

In the primitive Church, to have the Spirit's bap- 
tism was the rule; not to be filled with the Spirit was 
the exception. Hence the wonderful rapidity and 
power with which the Church spread herself out over 
the nations of the earth during the first two hundred 
years. Millions were converted in a year. So it was 
as long as the doctrine of the text was preached and 
received. Then came a falling away, succeeded by 
the Dark Ages. We have not got back to the point 
where the Church was when the falling away began. 
In our day, not to be filled with the Spirit is the rule; 
to have the Spirit's baptism is the exception. This 
grand old doctrine has been covered up and hidden 
from the people of God. If the Apostle Paul should 
rise from the dead, and go through the Churches, ask- 
ing, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye be- 
lieved?" I fear the great majority would answer, in 
the words of the twelve men at Ephesus, "We have 



138 The Wells of Salvation. 

not so much as heard whether there be any Holy 
Ghost," as a permanent dweller in the believer's heart. 
Hence the tardiness with which the work of God 
moves on in this land. 

The greatest need of the times is the baptism of 
the Holy Ghost in all our Churches. No intelligent 
lover of his country can look into the future without 
alarm. There are as many separate evils as fingers 
on my hand, any one of which may wreck this Repub- 
lic. There is the greatest of them all, the saloon; and 
political corruption, and anarchy, and Sabbath dese- 
cration, and the incoming of the scum of Europe. 
Nothing can save us from utter ruin but the mighty 
baptism of the Holy Ghost on the Churches of Amer- 
ica. O that it may come upon us all this hour! 

Do you ask: "What would the baptism of the Spirit 
do for me?" Just what it did for the apostles, except 
the power to work miracles. 

The baptism of the Spirit will give yon an abiding 
evidence of your acceptance with God. Now you are 
frequently tormented with doubts. You can not 
always say: "I know that Jesus saves me now; I know 
that if I should die this minute, heaven would be my 
home." But when the Spirit's baptism comes upon 
you, you will be able to say, every day of every year 
and every hour of every day: "I know that I am a 
member of the Royal family of heaven." Is it not 
worth more than the wealth of a thousand worlds 
like this to be able to look up into the face of that 
Great Being who piled up the mountains, and dug out 
the seas, and kindled the quenchless fires of the sun, 
and lighted the lamps of the stars, and upholds all 
things by the word of his power, and say, "Abba, 



The Baptism of the Holy Ghost. 139 

Father?" That will be your abiding experience when 
you have received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. 

The baptism of the Spirit will give you stability of 
Christian character. Now you are unsteady and un- 
stable. You are up, and down; hopeful, despairing; 
exultant, dejected; hot, cold; on the mountain top, in 
the dark and foggy valley. Now your pathway is a 
zigzag. For a little while you grow in grace, and the 
angels have great expectations that you will become 
a strong and useful Christian. Then come months of 
sliding back. When the pastor begins a protracted 
meeting, hoping that sinners will be saved, he must 
expend weeks of labor on you to get you up to the 
revival pitch, where you ought to be all the while. 
But when you have received the fullness of the Spirit, 
your religion will be up to the revival pitch all the 
time; you will be "rooted and grounded in love;" you 
will be "steadfast and unmovable, always abounding 
in the work of the Lord;" your course will indeed be 
"the path of the just," a "shining light, that shineth 
more and more unto the perfect day." At each quar- 
terly love-feast, you will be able to say, "The past 
quarter has been the best of my life." "O," you say, 
"I am so fickle; I can never become rooted." You do 
not know the power of the Holy Spirit. This blessed 
baptism, about which we are talking, will make the 
most fickle soul as firm as the everlasting rock. When 
you are baptized with the Holy Ghost, it will appear 
to those who did not know you before that firmness 
and stability are naturally the strongest traits of your 
character. 

The baptism of the Spirit will give you a satisfying 
portion. Now — I speak to many who are in the 



140 The Wells of Salvation. 

Church — you are not satisfied. The religion of Jesus 
Christ is not what you thought it was ; it does not fully 
meet the longings of your soul. There is a great 
void in your heart which Christ does not fill. You 
keep running out into the world after that enjoyment 
which you do not find in the service of God. You are 
forever saying: "Why can't I do this?" "Why can't I 
do that?" "Why can't I go here?" "Why can't I go 
there?" "What is the harm in playing cards, in danc- 
ing, in going to the theater?" These questions show 
that you are not satisfied. But when you are baptized 
with the Holy Ghost, you will have that which will 
fully meet the longings of your immortal soul. You 
will want nothing more but more room to hold more 
of the love and light which will come pouring in upon 
you. Suppose you had on your premises a well, going 
down into the rock ten, twenty, thirty feet, always full 
of cold, clear, sparkling water. Would you have any 
occasion to go out into the street, after a shower, and 
drink from a puddle of muddy water? If any one 
should ask you to drink such a beverage as that, you 
would say, "I have a well on my premises." When 
you are baptized with the Holy Ghost, you will have 
a well in your soul. Then the words of Jesus to the 
woman of Samaria will be fulfilled: "Whosoever drink- 
eth of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever 
drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall 
never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall 
be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting 
life." O the well of perfect satisfaction that springs 
up in the soul where the Holy Comforter is an abiding 
Guest! 

The baptism of the Holy Ghost zvill make you happy. 
You sometimes deem yourselves happy now. But 



The Baptism of the Holy Ghost. 141 

then you will say: "I never knew what happiness was 
before." Let the Spirit come in and fill your soul, 
and you will be happier than you now imagine you 
will be in heaven. You will sometimes be so happy 
that you will feel constrained to ask God to withdraw 
his hand lest you die from excess of joy. You will not 
always have these ecstasies; but you will always have 
peace. You will seem to be sailing on a boundless 
ocean of love, and sometimes the billows of bliss will 
roll over you, drowning you in unspeakable joy. 

You will have power when you have received the 
baptism of the Holy Ghost. You will have power over 
temptation. I do not say that you will not be tempted; 
you will be tempted, as long as you strive to live a 
Christian life. Your Savior was tempted by the devil; 
you must not expect to escape. But when the Holy 
Ghost is come upon you, you will beat the devil down, 
and come out of every conflict more than conqueror. 
The Word declares that you "shall bruise Satan under 
your feet shortly." Put this alongside the text, "Ye 
shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days 
hence," and you have the meaning, "When ye are 
baptized with the Holy Ghost, ye shall bruise Satan 
under your feet." Out of every conflict with the arch- 
adversary you will come stronger than ever before. 
You will have power in prayer. I do not mean that 
your prayers will be loud or low, or long or short. 
There is no power in noise ; it is the lightning, and not 
the thunder, that kills. I say nothing about the lati- 
tude or longitude of your prayers. But they will be 
deep and high when the Holy Ghost fills your heart. 
They will reach the ear of God, and thrill the hearts 
of men. It seems to me that there are not so many 
men and women in the Church, in these days, who are 



142 The Wells of Salvation. 

mighty in prayer, as in the earlier times. I have seen 
saints of God whom I would go further to hear pray 
than to hear the greatest preachers in the world. Your 
grammar may be faulty, your words few and limping; 
but when you have the holy baptism, you will pray 
with wondrous power. 

In a Church where I w r as pastor, many years ago, 
there was an old German brother who was filled with 
the Spirit. His testimonies in the social meetings 
were given in English; and it was the queerest Eng- 
lish you ever heard. But when he prayed, English 
would not do, and he poured out his soul to God in 
German. We could not understand a sentence. But 
his prayers thrilled us as no other prayers did in that 
Church, because he prayed in the Holy Ghost. 

You will have power to speak for Jesus when you 
are baptized with the Holy Ghost. Your testimonies 
may not be long or eloquent; but they will reach the 
hearts of those who hear; and souls will be saved 
through your instrumentality. A young Baptist min- 
ister, who was filled with the Spirit, and who never 
missed an opportunity to speak a word for Jesus, hap- 
pened one day, while riding alone behind his horse, to 
stop at a wayside watering-trough to let the animal 
drink. It happened that another young man, a 
stranger, drove up from the opposite side for the same 
purpose. While the horses were drinking, the min- 
ister said to the other: "I hope you love the Lord. If 
you do not, I want to commend him to you as your 
best Friend. Seek him with all your heart." That was 
all; they turned and went their ways. But the young 
man thus addressed had received an arrow in his soul 
which he could not shake out. He was soon converted, 
and was called to the ministrv. He devoted himself 



The Baptism of the Holy Ghost. 143 

to missionary work, and was sent to Africa. Years 
went by. The young missionary never prayed with- 
out thanking God for the words dropped at the way- 
side watering-trough, and praying for blessings upon 
him by whom they were spoken. He longed to know 
the name of the stranger, that he might send him his 
thanks. Meanwhile the object of his longing had 
died. One day a box of books came to the missionary 
in Africa. The first book which he took in his hand 
bore the title, 'The Life of James Brainerd Tailor." 
Opening the volume, he saw the portrait of the man 
who had won him to Christ. Once more, on his knees, 
he thanked God for the meeting and the words at the 
wayside watering-trough. You may not be a James 
Brainerd Tailor; but, after you have received the bap- 
tism of the Holy Ghost, you will be able to speak words 
which will reach and save the souls of men. The Holy 
Spirit, dwelling in your heart, will give you the right 
words to speak at the right time. A Scotch minister, 
walking along a street in Edinburgh on the evening 
of a hot summer day, saw, standing in a doorway to 
get a breath of fresh air, a woman holding a little child 
in her arms. The Spirit put these words in his mouth: 
"Woman, is your soul lying on the bosom of Jesus, 
as that little one lies in your arms?" That was enough. 
The Spirit shot the arrow into her heart, and she was 
soon converted. McChevne, visiting a rolling-mill, 
saw one of the workmen open the door of a furnace. 
Looking into the flaming abyss and into the workman's 
eyes, he said: "Does that remind you of anything?" 
The wicked man caught a glimpse of hell, repented, 
and was saved. The youngest and most insignificant 
person in this congregation will have power so to 
speak the word of life that many souls will be saved, 



144 The Wells of Salvation. 

when the baptism of the Holy Ghost has been re- 
ceived. 

In a village in Vermont, many years ago, lived an 
infidel. He knew all the ins and outs of infidelity, 
and could confound all who dared to meet him in 
argument. He was a regular attendant at Church, 
but was so armored against the truth that no shot 
from the pulpit ever reached his heart. On one occa- 
sion the minister prepared a sermon with the greatest 
care, on purpose to kill this infidel, and fired it off at 
him one Sunday morning. The shot seemed to take 
effect; for, not long after, the infidel came forward, 
professed religion, and joined the Church. The min- 
ister was overjoyed at the thought that his great ser- 
mon had converted the infidel, and, at the first oppor- 
tunity, he told him so. "Indeed," said the infidel, 
"your sermon did not have the slightest effect ; I could 
answer all its arguments to my perfect satisfaction. I 
will tell you what converted me. You know Jim 
Eaton, the Methodist fool. I met him one cold morn- 
ing going to work with his saw and sawbuck. He 
was singing along, as happy as a lark. I said: 'Ji m > 
what makes you so happy?' 'Bless the Lord,' he said, 
T am happy because Jesus is in my soul!' I said to 
myself, he tells the truth. He does not know enough 
to misrepresent, like some Christians. He is happy, 
and his religion makes him so. I am not happy; I 
am a poor miserable sinner. I hurried home, went to 
my closet, threw myself on my knees, and asked God 
to save me as he had Jim Eaton." It was the Holy 
Ghost, speaking in power out of the heart of the half- 
idiot, which brought that proud infidel to repentance 
and salvation. There will be such power in you when 
you are baptized with the Holy Ghost. 



The Baptism of the Holy Ghost. 145 

"How shall I obtain the baptism of the Holy 
Ghost?" you ask. You could answer your own ques- 
tion if you should try: Consecration, prayer, faith. 
Dedicate your all to God; pray for the promised gift; 
expect it while you pray. 

"I have heard this doctrine preached all my life. 
I have sought the blessing. Why have I not re- 
ceived?" That is what you are saying to yourself, 
while I am speaking. There are many reasons. You 
do not, on the whole, desire the gift of the Holy Ghost. 
On some accounts, you do; on the whole, you do not. 
If you could have the baptism of the Spirit and be 
proud and vain and worldly and selfish too, you would 
have the baptism. As that can not be, you finally 
conclude that you would rather have the world with- 
out the fullness of the Spirit, than the fullness of the 
Spirit without the world. When you desire this bless- 
ing above all things else, you can have it. Empty 
yourself of the vanities which you love so ardently, 
and God will fill you to overflowing with himself. Of 
all who ask the question, "Why do I not receive the 
Pentecostal blessing?" the answer, for the majority, 
is the one just given: You do not, on the whole, de- 
sire the blessing. 

To another class it ought to be said: You do not 
receive, because you are too proud. You carry your 
head too high. You look down upon your brethren 
and sisters. You think more of style than of salva- 
tion. You care more for the good opinions of the 
wealthy and fashionable than for the approbation of 
God. You must come down from your pinnacle of 
self-exaltation. You must prostrate yourself in the 
dust at the foot of the cross. That is where the poor 
man finds the blessing; that is where the rich man 



146 The Wells of Salvation. 

finds it. That is where the beggar finds it; that is 
where the king finds it. That is where the half-idiot 
finds it; that is where the college president finds it. 

To another class it ought to be said: You are too 
penurious to receive the baptism. You grudge every 
dollar you spend for God. You love money more 
than you love the souls of men. Your covetous spirit 
hinders the work of salvation, and brings reproach 
on the blessed name of Christ. Unloose your purse- 
strings so that God can get his whole hand in. Then — 
and not till then — can you expect the Spirit to fill your 
soul. 

Perhaps you are seeking the blessing by works. 
It is by faith, not by works, that you can receive. Be 
sure that your consecration is complete. Then give 
over your vain and foolish struggling, and bear your 
whole weight on the promise of the text. 

Down on the sand, near the margin of the ocean, 
lies a tiny shell, the cast-off house of some marine 
creature. How shall the shell be filled with the ocean? 
It has nothing to do but to lie on the sand. The ocean 
is before it. It is five thousand miles to the opposite 
shore. A little way out it is five miles deep. The tide 
is coming in. Let the little shell lie there, and soon the 
ocean will roll over it, fill, and engulf it. Lay your 
little soul down on the sand, by the margin of the 
boundless ocean of Infinite Love. The tide is coming 
in; it has been coming in for eighteen hundred years. 
Lie there, in perfect humiliation and faith, and soon 
the ocean will roll over you, and fill you with all the 
fullness of God. 



VIII. 

RECEIVING THE HOLY GHOST. 

" Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed ?" — 
Acts xix, 2. 

DAUL was a traveling preacher. His travels were 
A very extensive. His preaching was as frequent 
as his opportunities. His work was essentially the same 
as that of a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
He took long journeys; he founded Churches; he pre- 
sided in Conferences; he ordained ministers; he ap- 
pointed preachers to their fields of labor. 

On one of his episcopal tours, Paul visited a large 
and splendid city of Asia Minor, named Ephesus. 
There he found a little company of Christian believers, 
who had been converted under the preaching of a dis- 
ciple of John the Baptist. Paul was anxious to know 
their exact spiritual condition. So a meeting was 
held, like a Methodist class-meeting. Paul was the 
leader. Like an old-fashioned class-leader, he ex- 
amined into their present religious state. To each of 
them he put this searching question: "Have ye re- 
ceived the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" They were 
all honest men, and all gave the same answer: "We 
have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy 
Ghost." Then Paul made them know what was their 
high privilege in Christ; they were baptized in the 
name of the Lord Jesus ; the apostles' hands were laid 
upon them; the Holy Ghost came on them; and they 
spake with tongues and prophesied. From this brief 

*47 



148 The Wells of Salvation. 

narrative we learn that the reception of the Holy Ghost 
is an experience which comes after conversion. 

You ought to be informed, if you do not already 
know, that there is great uncertainty as to the correct 
translation of the text. The Revised Version has it: 
"Did ye receive the Holy Ghost when ye believed?" 
The most literal rendering of the original Greek would 
be: "Received ye the Holy Ghost, having believed?" 
But it matters little how we translate the question. 
The fact stands out, so prominent that it can not be 
misunderstood, here were twelve men who were 
genuine Christians, who had believed unto the salva- 
tion of their souls (for that is what Paul's word "be- 
lieved" means), but had not received the Holy Ghost 
Therefore it is absolutely certain that to be born 
again and to receive the Holy Ghost are two different 
and distinct experiences. 

There is reason to believe that there are multitudes 
of Christians in these days, like those Ephesian dis- 
ciples, who have not received the Holy Ghost. There- 
fore I ask this Christian congregation: "Have ye re- 
ceived the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" You have 
been convicted of sin. You have repented of all your 
sins. You have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. 
You have experienced the blessings of pardon and 
regeneration. Your names have been written in the 
Church book on earth, and in the Lamb's Book of 
Life in heaven. But "have ye received the Holy Ghost 
since ye believed?" 

The question at once springs to every tongue: 
"What is it to receive the Holy Ghost?" Before that 
question can be answered, another question must re- 
ceive attention: "What is the Holy Ghost?" We are 
constantly using the expression, Holy Ghost, in ser- 



Receiving the Holy Ghost. 149 

mon and prayer and testimony and song. What do we 
mean? What did Paul and the other inspired authors 
of the Bible mean when they said "Holy Ghost?" 

Every object of thought belongs to one of four 
classes — substances, attributes, influences or forces, 
and persons. A substance is something which can be 
handled, or weighed, or measured, as stone, iron, gold, 
water, air. Is the Holy Ghost a substance? Can the 
Holy Ghost be handled, or measured, or weighed? 
Only the most ignorant would dare to answer "Yes." 
An attribute is a quality belonging to a substance 
or a person, as hardness, softness, goodness, wisdom, 
holiness. Is the Holy Ghost nothing but an attribute? 
To ask that question is to answer it. It can not be that 
the Holy Ghost is merely a quality belonging to some 
person or thing. An influence, or force, is an energy 
or potency going out from a person or thing, as heat, 
light, electricity, gravitation. Is the Holy Ghost a 
mere influence, or force, emanating from the Divine 
Being? That has never been the belief of the Chris- 
tian Church. If the Holy Ghost is not a substance, an 
attribute, or an influence, he must be a person. 

Probably no one in this congregation doubts the 
doctrine of the personality of the Holy Ghost. But as 
we are too much inclined to think and speak of the 
Divine Spirit as a lifeless thing, or as a blind, unintelli- 
gent, indefinite force, we will briefly look over the 
argument for the orthodox position in regard to this 
most important subject. The first reason why we be- 
lieve that the Holy Ghost is a person is that inspira- 
tion uses the personal pronouns he, him, and zvhom in 
speaking of the Divine Spirit. Jesus said to his dis- 
ciples, as recorded in the fourteenth and sixteenth 
chapters of John: "The Comforter, the Holy Ghost, 



150 The Wells of Salvation. 

whom the Father will send in my name, he shall 
teach you all things. It is expedient for you that I 
go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not 
come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto 
you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world. 
When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you 
into all truth. He shall glorify me." 

Here, in the space of four short sentences, the mas- 
culine personal pronouns are applied to the Holy 
Ghost no less than five times. Four times the Greek 
word ekeinos is used, which always means that male 
person. Surely the Great Teacher, who spake as never 
man spake, knew how to use language. In calling 
the Holy Ghost he, him, and zvhom, he did the same 
as to say: "The Holy Ghost is a person." 

Again, the Holy Ghost is associated with the Father 
and the Son in the apostolic benediction and the bap- 
tismal formula. Paul closes his second letter to the 
Corinthians with these words : "The grace of the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion 
of the Holy Ghost, be with you all." Christ com- 
manded the apostles to baptize their converts "in the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost." What blasphemy to associate the name of 
a dead substance, an abstract quality, or a blind, un- 
reasoning force with the awful name of the Supreme 
Intelligence. Such blasphemy was uttered by Paul 
and by our blessed Lord, if the Holy Ghost is not a 
Divine person. 

Again, the acts of persons are attributed to the 
Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost thinks. The Church 
at Jerusalem, with the inspired apostles at its head, 
once sent a circular-letter of advice and instruction to 
all the other Churches. In it occurs this passage : "It 



Receiving the Holy Ghost. 151 

seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon 
you no greater burden than these necessary things." 
To "seem good to the Holy Ghost" means "the Holy 
Ghost thought best." So the Holy Ghost can think. 
But the power to think belongs only to persons. 
Hence the Holy Ghost is a person. The Holy Ghost 
prays. Paul writes in the eighth chapter of Romans: 
"Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for 
we know not what we should pray for as w r e ought : but 
the Spirit makcth intercession for us with groanings 
which can not be uttered." To make intercession is to 
pray. Therefore the Holy Ghost prays. But a sub- 
stance, or an attribute, or an influence can not pray; 
only persons can pray. Therefore the Holy Ghost is a 
person. The Holy Ghost speaks. He spoke to Peter 
en the house-top at Joppa, and told him that three 
men were below seeking him, and that he must go with 
them. The Holy Ghost spoke to the Church at An- 
tioch, when they were praying and fasting for the sal- 
vation of souls, and said: "Separate me Barnabas and 
Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." 
Things, attributes, and influences can not speak; only 
persons can speak. Therefore the Holy Ghost must 
be a person. 

The Holy Ghost can be sinned against. You re- 
member the fearful death of Ananias and Sapphira. 
They were smitten with instant death in the presence 
of the Church. What fearful sin had they committed 
to deserve so severe a punishment? Hear the words of 
Peter to the man: "Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy 
heart to lie to the Holy Ghost? Thou hast not lied 
unto men, but unto God !" Those words, from the lips 
of an inspired apostle, prove two things : that the Holy 
Ghost is a person, and that he is a Divine person. 



152 The Wells of Salvation. 

But why waste words in proving what no one who 
believes the Bible can deny? The Holy Ghost is the 
Third Person of the ever-blessed Trinity, "of one sub- 
stance, majesty, and glory with the Father and the 
Son, very and eternal God." 

The Holy Ghost is that one of the three Persons 
of the Trinity that has special charge of the kingdom 
of God on earth. He is the Executive of the God- 
head. We are to think of God the Father as sitting 
on the throne of the universe, scrutinizing everything 
which he has made. God the Son is before the throne 
interceding for us whom he has redeemed. There he 
will remain until he comes to raise the dead and judge 
the world. But God the Holy Ghost is in the world, 
representing the Father and the Son, and carrying on 
the work of saving the human race from sin and hell. 

Everything which has ever been done in the world, 
since the ascension of our Lord, to spread the gospel 
or to save a soul, has been done by the Executive of 
the Godhead. If a minister preaches a sermon that 
carries conviction to the heart of a sinner, or consola- 
tion or strength to the heart of a saint, it is the Holy 
Ghost that does the work, through the human instru- 
ment. If man, woman, or child prays the prayer of 
faith, it is because the Holy Ghost prays through the 
lips of clay. If conviction is abroad in a community, 
so that men are thoughtful and serious, and flock to 
the house of prayer, and many ask, "What must I do 
to be saved?" it is because the Holy Ghost is abroad 
in the streets and homes and places of business and 
pleasure. If a sinner repents of his sins; if a penitent 
is converted; if a believer is sanctified; if a sanctified 
one receives a new measure of faith and power: that 
Divine person, whom the Bible calls the Holy Ghost, 



Receiving the Holy Ghost. 153 

is there, representing the Father and Son, and exer- 
cising all the power and authority of the ever-blessed 
Trinity. To receive the Holy Ghost is to have the 
Executive of the Godhead, the Third Person of the 
adorable Trinity, come into a man's innermost being, 
and dwell there, making it his throne and temple. 

All that the Holy Ghost does for a man, before this, 
is done, so to speak, from the outside. In regener- 
ation, or conversion, the Holy Ghost shines into the 
man's soul. In this second blessing, spoken of in the 
text, the Holy Ghost comes into the man and shines 
out of him into the surrounding region, making him 
a source of light to all who approach him. 

A simple illustration will make my meaning plain. 
Here is a house at midnight. It is dark within, and 
dark all around. A man comes along the street with 
a lantern. He unlocks the front door, and holds his 
lantern so that the light shines into the house. That 
represents conversion. After a little, the man goes into 
the house with his lantern. He opens every shutter, 
and raises every curtain, and puts a lighted lamp at 
every window-pane. Now the whole house is aflame 
with light, and the street is so bright that men can 
read the time of night on the faces of their watches 
as they go by. That represents the blessing to which 
Paul referred when he said to the Ephesian Christians : 
"Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" 
The Holy Ghost is God. To receive the Holy Ghost 
is to receive God into the soul, to live and reign there, 
filling our whole being with sweetness and light. 

I well remember when the news came that Lee 
had surrendered to Grant. Every house in the village 
where I lived was illuminated; everybody was happy 
because the war was over, and the Union was saved. 



154 The Wells of Salvation. 

I had the privilege of illuminating one of the houses. 
The windows had the old-fashioned little panes. I 
procured as many boards as there were rows of panes 
in all the windows, each board being as long as the 
distance between the window-casings. In every board 
I bored as many holes as there were panes in a row, 
and put a board at the bottom of every row of panes. 
Then I put a candle in every hole, and touched a burn- 
ing match to every candle-wick. Thus there was a 
flaming light at every window-pane. In some such a 
way as that a man's soul is illuminated when the Holy 
Ghost comes in to make it his home. 

The Holy Ghost is God. But we can not compre- 
hend God. Therefore we instinctively look about us 
to find something terrestrial to symbolize the Celestial 
Spirit and his work. We enter a grist-mill. We see 
the stones for grinding the wheat into meal; and the 
bolt for turning the meal into flour. Everything is 
silent and motionless. A farmer comes with his grist. 
The miller empties the wheat into the hopper. Noth- 
ing stirs. The mill is as silent as a tomb. The miller 
examines the machinery; everything seems to be in 
perfect order. He goes down under the floor into a 
room full of shafts and pulleys and cog-wheels and 
belts. He examines all these, and pronounces them, 
right. He lights a lamp, and descends into the dark, 
cold wheel-pit, where he hears the rushing water, but 
can find nothing wrong. He comes back, shaking his 
head. What is the matter, Mr. Miller? Why does not 
your mill grind? "I do n't know," he says. "It ought 
to; I can not find anything wrong." Come, let us all 
put our shoulders to this wheel, and see if .we can not 
turn the stones and make them grind this man's grist. 



Receiving the Holy Ghost. 155 

It will not budge an inch. It 's of no use. Mr. Farmer, 
you must carry your grist to some other mill. 

"Hold," says the miller; "I forgot something. The 
mill is in perfect order, but I forgot to let on the 
power." He seizes a lever which comes up through 
the floor. He pushes it downward with all his might. 
In an instant the stone begins to turn. Soon the whole 
building seems to be alive with clattering wheels and 
waving belts and groaning shafts. In half an hour 
the farmer drives away with his wagon full of bags of 
snowy flour. What did the miller do when he pushed 
down that lever. The answer is very easy. He let the 
water, which was roaring and foaming in the flume, 
down upon the wheel in the pit. Without the water, 
the mill, with all its intricate and costly machinery, 
is good for nothing. 

What the water is to the mill, the Holy Ghost is 
to our minds and hearts. There are Churches like 
that silent and motionless mill. Their machinery is 
complete and perfect. They assemble for Divine wor- 
ship in costly and magnificent temples. The music 
is artistic and sublime. The preaching is according 
to the highest standard of literary and scholastic ex- 
cellence. The congregations are crowds of the most 
cultivated and wealthy and influential. There is not a 
thing in all the world, which a Church could wish to 
have, that they do not possess. And yet these 
Churches are doing almost nothing for God and hu- 
manity. No penitent ever finds Christ at their altars. 
No 'sinner ever receives conviction in their pews. 
With all their splendid and expensive machinery they 
grind no grist for hungry souls. Why? Because 
the flood-gates of Divine power have not been lifted; 



156 The Wells of Salvation. 

because the water has not been let in upon the wheel; 
because the ministry and membership have not re- 
ceived the Holy Ghost. "Have ye received the Holy 
Ghost since ye believed?" 

Picture to yourself a beleaguered fortress and a 
besieging army. Yonder is a mighty rampart, built of 
enormous blocks of stone, held together with cement 
and iron clamps, — a mass of solid masonry, seventy 
feet high and thirty feet thick. To get into the city 
the besiegers must batter down that cyclopean wall. 
How can it be done? Look! Here is a row of enor- 
mous, hollow, iron cylinders, mounted on wheels. 
With these our general intends to knock down that 
wall. What nonsense! These things are as powerless 
as so many logs. But wait! Here come men lugging 
large bags of black sand, which they pour into the 
mouths of the iron tubes. What lunatics! How do 
they expect to batter down stone walls thirty feet 
thick with black sand in iron tubes? Look again! 
In front of each tube stand two men, lifting a heavy 
iron ball up to the mouth of the tube. Now they roll 
it in, and ram it down with a long rod. 

The exact situation is this : It is proposed to batter 
down yonder wall with powerless iron balls, which 
two men can hardly lift, on top of powerless black 
sand, in powerless iron tubes. Evidently our general 
is an idiot, or he has something else to add to what 
he has already brought to the trenches. Look! there 
it is. Behind each tube stands a man with a long stick 
in his hand tipped with a spark of fire. At a signal 
from the commanding officer, each man swings his 
stick in the air, making a little circle of flame; and, 
when the w T ord is given, he brings the burning end 
down upon the butt end of the iron tube, where the 



Receiving the Holy Ghost. 157 

ramming in of the ball has forced a little black sand 
up through a small hole. Instantly there is an awful 
explosion. The ground trembles as though an earth- 
quake were tramping by. The very atmosphere seems 
to be on fire. Our ears are rent with a noise com- 
pared with which the loudest thunder would be but 
as the rattling of a cart. When the dense clouds of 
smoke have cleared away, we see a huge gap in the 
enemy's rampart, where a hundred balls, from a hun- 
dred guns, have struck a hundred titanic blows on 
a single spot. 

What fire is to cannon and powder and ball, the 
Holy Ghost is to our bodies and minds and souls. 
Without fire, all the cannon and powder and ball ever 
made could not harm a fly. Without the Holy Ghost, 
all our sermons and exhortations and prayers and 
songs can not do the slightest injury to Satan's king- 
dom. 

We have everything we need to take this world 
for Christ but the fire of God — the Holy Ghost. Why 
is it that, with so many churches and ministers and 
Sunday-schools and choirs and organs and Bibles and 
tracts and papers and Missionary Societies and 
Leagues and Conferences and Conventions and com- 
mittees and resolutions, we are doing so little to batter 
down the strongholds of sin? Because so few of us 
have received the Holy Ghost since we believed. We 
are trying to kill the devil with powder and ball with- 
out fire. We have plenty of good cannon, and an 
abundance of excellent powder and shot and shell; 
but, in too many cases, we have no fire to touch them 
off. O God, send the fire of the Holy Ghost! 

On the railroad track stands a locomotive, fresh 
from the shop where it was built. It weighs, with its 



158 The Wells of Salvation. 

tender, nearly a hundred tons. It cost fifteen thousand 
dollars. It is as perfect a machine as man ever made. 
Its polished steel and burnished brass reflect the splen- 
dor of the sun. It is a thing of marvelous beauty and 
wondrous power. Man has made few things more 
to be admired. If ever I become an idolater, and 
worship a creature instead of the Creator, I shall say 
my prayers to a first-class American locomotive. To 
this machine are coupled half a score of palaces on 
wheels, filled with expectant travelers with their faces 
toward a distant city. The conductor gives the signal 
to start. The engineer opens the throttle. The en- 
gine does not stir. It stands as motionless as the 
Egyptian pyramids. What is the matter? Perhaps 
the machine needs to be oiled. The engineer jumps 
from the cab, oil-can in hand, and pours a yellow 
stream of lubrication into every place where there 
can be the slightest friction. Returning to his seat, 
he opens the throttle again. Nothing stirs but the 
bell, which the fireman rings with all his might. What 
can the matter be? Perhaps it is sand that is needed. 
The engineer pulls a lever, and a stream of sand flows 
out upon the rails in front of the drive-wheels. Again 
he jerks away at the throttle-lever; but there is no 
response. He says to the fireman: ''Did you rub up 
all the brass before we tried to start?" "Yes," he an- 
swers, "I did." "Well, do it again." The faithful 
fireman seizes cloth and cotton-waste, and climbs out 
and polishes the outside and the inside of the bell, -and 
the top of the sand-box, and the brass bands around 
boiler's jacket, and the reflector of the head-light, and 
every other piece of yellow metal which he can find. 
"Now I guess she will go," says the engineer. But 
go she will not. You might as well try to move a 



Receiving the Holy Ghost. 159 

mountain. What shall be done? Shall we get a lot 
of horses and hitch them to the engine? Perhaps if 
she is started, she will go. No. It would hardly be 
possible for all the horses in the city, pulling together, 
to stir the locomotive and the cars. What is such a 
locomotive good for? For actual service, it is worth 
less than a decent wheelbarrow or a respectable baby- 
cab. "O," says the engineer, "I have forgotten some- 
thing." What have you forgotten? "The steam." 
The steam? That is a great thing to forget. Well* 
fill the boiler with water. Build a raging fire in the 
fire-box. Shovel in the coal without stint. Watch 
the steam-gauge. What is the pressure now? One 
hundred and fifty pounds to the square inch. That 
will do. Now she will go. See how she breathes! 
She pants like a war-horse, impatient to rush into the 
battle. All aboard! Get off the track! Now, engi- 
neer, we will go. His hand is already on the lever. 
He gives it a gentle push. With a terrific snort the 
iron-horse instantly responds to her driver's command. 
Slowly, at first, but faster and faster, the ponderous 
train begins to move. In a few minutes the fire- 
breathing monster with the flashing coaches is flying 
through the fields at the rate of fifty miles an hour. 
What steam is to the locomotive, the Holy Ghost 
is to Churches and individual Christians. The engi- 
neer can do nothing with his engine till it is full of 
steam. God, the Supreme Engineer, can do nothing, 
or next to nothing, with his Church till it is filled with 
the Holy Ghost. The engine must tarry in the round- 
house till it is full of steam, till it is endued with power. 
Then it comes out, and is coupled to the train which 
it is to pull. We must tarry in our round-house, 
around the altar of prayer, till we are "endued with 



i6o The Wells of Salvation. 

power from on high," till we are rilled with the Holy 
Ghost. Then we shall take the track of duty, and haul 
huge loads for God and humanity. 

Have you not seen Churches like that cold and 
powerless locomotive? They have everything but 
what a Church needs most — steam, the Holy Ghost. 
At length a conviction comes over the leading mem- 
bers that they are not accomplishing anything for 
God. They have a meeting of the Official Board to 
talk the matter up. Different propositions are made. 
One says: "Let's paint the church;" another: "Let 's 
put a new bell in the tower;" another: "Let's buy a 
new organ;" another: "Let's put in a steam-heating 
apparatus;" another: "Let's reorganize the Epworth 
League;" another: "Let's have a Church Fair;" an- 
other: "Let's send off and get an evangelist." 

Not one of those dear brethren has any conception 
of the real need of the Church. If I were invited to 
preach in that pulpit, I would take for my text, "Have 
ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" If 
the members of that Church would receive the Holy 
Ghost, the old bell and the old organ would answer 
the purpose, or new ones would be quickly procured; 
steam heat would not be a necessity; the Epworth 
League would not need to be reorganized; Church 
Fairs would be an abomination; and every man and 
woman would be a flaming evangelist, setting the 
whole town on fire, and turning multitudes of sinners 
to righteousness. 

Have you not seen individual Church members 
like that cold and motionless locomotive? They are 
well born and well-bred and well-educated. They are 
moral and amiable and honorable. They pay liber- 
ally for the support of the Church. They are in sym- 



Receiving the Holy Ghost, 161 

pathy with every good work. Perhaps they have re- 
ligion enough to get to heaven. But how little spirit- 
ual life and power they have! For the direct spiritual 
work of the Church the pastor finds them almost 
worthless. The difficulty is, they have not received 
the Holy Ghost since they believed. "Have ye re- 
ceived the Holy Ghost?" 

If you were to receive the Holy Ghost — if the 
Third Person of Adorable Trinity, the Executive of 
the Godhead, where to come into your soul and dwell 
there, filling you with his blessed presence — what 
would be the result? There is not time for anything 
like a complete answer to that question. I will merely 
state two results. The first is Purity. The Holy 
Ghost is called the "Spirit of Holiness." St. Peter 
testified that when he and his fellow-disciples received 
the Holy Ghost, on the day of Pentecost, their hearts 
were purified by faith. There can be no sin where the 
Holy Ghost abides. As soon as he comes in, he drives 
all impurity and unrighteousness out. He will not 
cleanse your heart in the slow and tedious way in 
which the mother of a family performs her semi- 
annual task of house-cleaning. (Of all the weeks in 
the year that is the most disagreeable.) But as sud- 
denly as a flash of lightning the Holy Ghost will drive 
out all pride and anger and envy and jealousy and am- 
bition and covetousness and impatience and unbelief 
and lust and bitterness, and fill your heart with all 
the fullness of God. When you have received the 
Holy Ghost, you will glory in nothing save the cross 
of Jesus Christ ; nothing will be able to provoke you to 
anger; no amount of praise or honor bestowed on a 
brother will stir up any unpleasant feeling in your 
breast; you will be contented to occupy the lowest 

ii 



1 62 The Wells of Salvation. 

place in the Church; you will have no ambition but 
to do all the good you can; the sight of a contribution- 
box will give you real pleasure and holy delight; you 
will be calm and sweet in the most irritating circum- 
stances ; you will believe all the words of God without 
the shadow of a doubt; you will have all your appe- 
tites in perfect control; you will love all men — even 
your worst enemies — as you love yourself; and your 
heart, from being the abode of fear and care and 
freezing doubt, will become a heaven of calm repose 
and perfect trust. 

The twin sister of Purity is Power. They always 
go together. If you want Power seek Purity too; or 
rather, receive the Holy Ghost, and you will have both 
as the necessary result. The Bible calls the Holy 
Ghost the Spirit of Power. When he comes into the 
heart, and fills it with his presence, he energizes and 
uses every faculty of the soul and mind and body for 
the accomplishment of the work which he came into 
the world on the day of Pentecost to perform. When 
you have received the .Holy Ghost, you will have 
power to resist temptation. The devil will assail you 
perhaps more fiercely than ever before; but you will 
baffle and beat him and trample him under your feet. 
You will have power to stand for God and the truth 
everywhere. As long as the Holy Ghost dwells in 
your heart you can not backslide. This is the true 
doctrine of the "perseverance of the saints." You 
will have power to pray. The Holy Ghost, dwelling 
in your heart, will pray through your lips; and such 
prayer must be answered. You will have power to 
witness for Jesus. It will not be "ye that speak, but 
the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you." It 
will no longer be a cross to speak for your blessed 



Receiving the Holy Ghost. 163 

Master when his Spirit fills your heart. You will 
often feel so full that it will be almost impossible for 
you to keep from speaking. You will have power 
to win souls. The Holy Ghost, dwelling in your heart 
and shining out through every window of your soul, 
will enlighten and convince and convict and convert 
many who are in darkness and sin and spiritual death. 

If all the professed disciples of Christ would re- 
ceive the Holy Ghost, the whole world would soon 
be saved. If all the Bible Christians in America would 
receive the Holy Ghost, anarchy and political corrup- 
tion and Sabbath-breaking and riot and rum and all 
outbreaking sin would disappear, and the praises of 
Jesus would ring from ocean to ocean and from the 
lakes to the gulf. If the members of this Church 
generally would receive the Holy Ghost, there would 
be a great revival, as surely as there is a God. 

Who can receive the Holy Ghost? All believers; 
whether they belong to the ministry or the laity; 
whether they be men or women; whether they be 
learned or ignorant; whether they be high or low; 
whether they be old or young. In this matter, God 
is no respecter of persons. The great proclamation 
of this glorious salvation is contained in such words 
as these: "It shall come to pass in the last days, saith 
God, I will pour out of my Spirit on all flesh: and 
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your 
young men shall see visions, and your old men shall 
dream dreams; and on my servants and on my hand- 
maidens I will pour out in those days my Spirit, and 
they shall prophesy." Even little children can re- 
ceive the Holy Ghost. At a New England camp- 
meeting, half a century ago, a ten-year-old boy was so 
baptized from on high that he sprang upon a stump 



1 64 The Wells of Salvation. 

and began to preach with such power that scores of 
sinners were convicted and converted, and after that, 
when the Holy Ghost spoke through him, no preacher 
on the ground could hold a congregation. In a cer- 
tain community a minister of considerable ability had 
been conducting a series of meetings for many weeks, 
aiming at the conversion of sinners, but without any 
results except that there was more deadness and hard- 
ness than at the beginning. What was intended to 
be the last meeting was drawing to a close amid uni- 
versal depression and gloom, when a girl, eleven 
years old, sitting with her father, rose, and, under the 
mighty baptism of the Holy Ghost, gave such an ex- 
hortation that a score of sinners were converted that 
night, and the work spread all over a wide extent 
of country, till hundreds on hundreds found Christ 
precious to their souls. 

What shall we do that we may receive the Holy 
Ghost? Confess, consecrate, pray, believe. Confess 
that you did not receive the Holy Ghost when you be- 
lieved for the regeneration of your soul; confess that 
you have not received him since; confess that you be- 
lieve that the reception of the Holy Ghost is a distinct 
blessing, bestowed once for all. Consecrate all you 
have to God by an irrevocable vow. Pray as Jacob did 
at Jabbok: "I will not let thee go except thou bless 
me." Believe with all your heart. Believing is like 
opening a door or window. Open all the doors and 
windows of your soul, and the Holy Ghost, like a 
mighy rushing wind, will come in and fill you "with 
all the fullness of God." 



IX. 

THE FULLNESS OE THE SPIRIT. 

" Be filled with the Spirit."— Eph. v, i8„ 

'"THESE words are a command from God, addressed 
* to every believer. Without question, Paul's letter 
to the Ephesians, from which our text is taken, was 
written to, and for, Christians. Therefore every con- 
verted soul, who has not already been filled with the 
Spirit, is commanded to be so filled. He who know- 
ingly disobeys this command loses his justified relation 
with God. The Spirit here spoken of is the Holy 
Spirit, the Third Person of the Adorable Trinity. This 
is so evident that it needs no proof. 

Very much is said in the Bible about being filled 
with the Spirit. In Exodus xxxi, 2 and 3, God says: 
"See, I have called by name Bezaleel, the son of Uri, 
and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wis- 
dom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in 
all manner of workmanship." God filled Bezaleel with 
the Holy Ghost, that he might have wisdom and un- 
derstanding to build the tabernacle. The angel told 
Zacharias that John, the child that should be given to 
his old age, should "be filled with the Holy Ghost 
even from his mother's womb." We are informed in 
Luke i, 41, that when Mary saluted Elizabeth, the 
latter "was filled with the Holy Ghost." In the sixty- 
seventh verse of the same chapter, we are told that, 
at the circumcision of John, his father, Zacharias, "was 

165 



1 66 The Wells of Salvation. 

filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied. " In the 
story of Pentecost, as related in the second chapter 
of Acts, we read of the disciples that "they were all 
filled with the Holy Ghost." In the fourth chapter 
of Acts we have a skeleton of one of Peter's sermons. 
The preacher is introduced to us in these words, "Then 
Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them." 
In the same chapter we have a description of a primi- 
tive prayer-meeting. It was a model prayer-meeting. 
Every person present took part, in audible prayer. 
The description ends with these words: "And when 
they had prayed, the place was shaken where they 
were assembled together; and they were all filled with 
the Holy Ghost, and they spake the Word of God with 
boldness." In the thirteenth chapter of Acts is given 
the story of Saul's encounter with Elymas, the sor- 
cerer, and we read: "Then Saul, filled with the Holy 
Ghost, set his eyes on him, and said, O full of all 
subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou 
enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to per- 
vert the right ways of the Lord?" One of the Beati- 
tudes is : "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst 
after righteousness; for they shall be filled." Filled 
with what, do you suppose? With the Holy Ghost, 
to be sure. What else could be intended? In Ephe- 
sians hi, 14-21, we have an inspired prayer from the 
lips of Paul. It closes with this petition: "That ye 
might be filled with all the fullness of God." What 
can that mean but to be filled with the Holy Ghost? 
In the sixth chapter of Acts is the history of the elec- 
tion and ordination of the first deacons. The apostles 
said to the brethren: "Look ye out among you seven 
men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wis- 
dom, whom we may appoint over this business." Ste- 



The Fullness of the Spirit. 167 

phen was one of the men thus elected; and we are twice 
informed that he was "full of the Holy Ghost." 

From these multiplied statements, and from the 
text, we learn that it is our privilege and duty to "be 
filled with the Spirit" Every one who believes the 
Bible at all, believes that the Book of Ephesians was 
written for all Christians, in all ages and lands. To 
every one of us, God says in the text, "Be filled with the 
Spirit." The Almighty is determined that we shall 
be "filled with the Spirit." The Christian believer 
who is not "filled with the Spirit" is living as far be- 
low his privilege as the valley of Chamounix is below 
the summit of Mont Blanc. 

The question is sure to come to every mind: "What 
is it to be filled with the Spirit?" I think the first 
clause of the verse will help us to answer that ques- 
tion. It says: "Be not drunk with wine." Why should 
"be not drunk with wine" and "be filled with the 
Spirit" be linked together in the same verse? Mani- 
festly because there is a similarity between the two 
conditions. Look at that man who is "drunk with 
wine." See how he acts and moves and talks. He is 
not himself. He is another man. He does and says 
what he would not do and say if he were himself. He 
is filled, saturated, completely controlled, by the ac- 
cursed spirit of wine, that spirit of which Shakespeare 
said: 

" O thou invisible spirit of wine ! 
If thou hast no name to be known by, 
L,et me call thee devil." 

Look at that man who is filled with the Holy 
Spirit. Observe how he acts and speaks and lives. 
He is not himself. He is another man. His old self 



1 68 The Wells of Salvation. 

is dead. He acts and speaks and lives as once he 
could not. He is filled, saturated (if I may use that 
term) with God. He is completely under the influence 
of the Third Person of the Trinity, so that, so far as 
their moral quality is concerned, his acts, words, 
thoughts, and life are according to the mind and will 
of God. "Drunk with wine," "filled with the Spirit" — 
how far apart! How near together! How totally un- 
like! How very similar! A man who is drunk with 
wine is full of the devil. The man who is filled with 
the Spirit is full of God. 

What are some of the results of being filled with 
the Spirit? We shall be helped to answer that ques- 
tion if we notice the titles given to the Third Person 
of the Trinity in the Holy Scriptures. Here they are. 
He is called "The Spirit," "the Holy Spirit," "the 
Holy Ghost," "the Spirit of God," "the Spirit of 
Christ," "the Spirit of the Father," "the Spirit of the 
Son," "the Comforter," "the Eternal Spirit," "the 
Free Spirit," "the Spirit of life," "the Spirit of light," 
"the Spirit of might," "the Spirit of wisdom," "the 
Spirit of knowledge," "the Spirit of understanding," 
the Spirit of counsel," "the Spirit of prophecy," 
"the Spirit of revelation," "the Spirit of judgment," 
"the Spirit of truth," "the Spirit of grace," "the Spirit 
of glory," "the Spirit of adoption," "the Spirit of 
burning," "the Spirit of holiness." 

Let us analyze these titles, and see what they mean. 
The Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Ghost are 
all one, and need no explanation. The titles, "Spirit of 
God," "Spirit of Christ," "Spirit of the Father," and 
"Spirit of the Son" mean that, in the words of our 
creed, the Spirit proceeds from the Father and from 
the Son. The relation of the First Person of the God- 



The Fullness of the Spirlt. 169 

head to the Second is Fatherhood. The relation of 
the Second Person of the Godhead to the First is Son- 
ship. The relation of the Third Person to the other 
two Persons is Procession. The Holy Spirit is called 
the Comforter, because it is his office to comfort the 
people of God in their manifold trials and afflictions. 
He is called the Eternal Spirit because, with the other 
Persons of the Godhead, he is from everlasting to 
everlasting. He is called the Free Spirit because he 
breaks off from the soul the shackles of sin, and 
makes Satan's slave Christ's free man. He is called 
the Spirit of life because he is the author of all spiritual 
life, and perhaps we may say of all physical life. He is 
called the Spirit of light because he alone chases away 
the darkness of sin, and sheds abroad the light of truth 
and righteousness. He is called the Spirit of might 
because he gives strength to the weak, and enables 
those whose hearts he fills to overcome evil and do the 
will of God. He is called the Spirit of wisdom be- 
cause he imparts to the believer a practical insight 
into duty and obligation. For a similar reason he is 
called the Spirit of knowledge, understanding, and 
counsel. He is called the Spirit of prophecy and 
revelation because he inspired the writing of the 
Book which we call the Bible. He is called the Spirit 
of judgment because he convicts wicked men of their 
sins, on account of which they deserve the judgment 
and wrath of God. He is called the Spirit of truth 
because his presence in the believer's heart gives him 
a clear insight into the truth, and an intense love of the 
truth. He is called the Spirit of grace because all the 
ability and disposition which the believer has to do 
the will of God comes from him. He is called the 
Spirit of glory because all the beauty and effulgence 



170 The Wells of Salvation. 

of the Christian character are his gift. He is called 
the Spirit of adoption because he witnesses to the 
believer's soul the fact that he has been adopted into 
the Divine family. He is called the Spirit of burn- 
ing because he burns all sin out of the heart, and fills 
it with the light of heaven and fire of love. He is 
called the Spirit of holiness because holiness of heart, 
from first to last, is his work. 

One of the most beautiful titles which the Third 
Person of the Trinity has assumed to himself is, the 
"Spirit of adoption." We find it in Romans viii, 15: 
"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again 
to fear: but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, 
whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself bear- 
eth witness with our spirit that we are the children of 
God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and 
joint-heirs with Christ." We all know what adoption 
means in every-day life, Imagine to yourself an or- 
phan boy. He is wandering about in the streets of a 
great city, homeless, friendless, ragged, filthy, starv- 
ing. His life is so wretched and hopeless that he al- 
most wishes himself dead. He is seriously asking 
himself whether he shah not end his misery by jump- 
ing from the bridge into the dark and rushing river. 
A kind-hearted man, who lives in a marble mansion 
and is immensely rich, comes upon him just as he is 
about to make the fatal plunge. He lifts him into his 
carriage, with words of pity and love, and takes him 
to his home. He feeds him at his own table; he 
clothes him in such apparel as a millionaire's child 
ought to wear; he makes him his son, according to the 
forms which the laws of the land prescribe; he teaches 
him to call him "father;" he educates and trains him 



The Fullness of the Spirit. 171 

to be the heir to all his wealth. That is what the world 
calls "adoption." 

Like that is what the Bible calls adoption. You, 
Christian, were a wandering, homeless, fatherless 
child — a "child of wrath" — doomed to everlasting 
death. God found you in your wretchedness and 
filth. He washed away your sins; he clothed you in 
the robes of righteousness; he fed you with the bread 
of life; he made you his child and heir; he adopted you 
into the family of heaven. 

Now it is one of the offices of the Holy Spirit to 
make known to the believer the fact of his adoption. 
There are many Christians who do not know whether 
they have been adopted of God or not. But it is the 
privilege of all Christians to know this with absolute 
certainty. As the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of 
adoption, one result of being "filled with the Spirit" 
must be the driving out of the heart of all doubt of 
acceptance with God, and the incoming of a clear and 
perfect and abiding assurance of that glorious fact. 
Because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of adoption, 
those who are "filled with the Spirit" know beyond the 
shadow of a doubt, know all the time, that they are the 
children of God, "heirs of God and joint-heirs with 
Christ;" every hour in the day they can look up into 
the face of God, and say, "Abba, Father." Doubtless 
there are Christians, who have not been filled with 
the Spirit, who nevertheless have, more or less fully, 
the witness of the Spirit to the fact of their adoption 
into the Divine family. But only those who are "filled 
with the Spirit" have the "full assurance of faith," the 
abiding evidence of their acceptance with God. 

Set this down, then, in your minds as one of the 



172 The Wells of Salvation. 

results of being filled with the Spirit, an uninterrupted 
and positive assurance that you belong to the family 
of heaven. The Prince of Wales has no more posi- 
tive assurance that he is heir to the throne of Great 
Britain, and that he will be the ruler of the greatest 
empire on the globe if he survives his mother, Queen 
Victoria, than the Christian, who is filled "with the 
Spirit of adoption," has that he is heir to "an inherit- 
ance incorruptible and undented, and that fadeth not 
away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the 
power of God through faith unto salvation." 

The Holy Spirit is called the "Comforter" because 
he is in the world for the express purpose of comfort- 
ing the children of God in all the sorrows and afflic- 
tions incident to this mortal life. When you are filled 
with the Spirit, you will be, as Paul wrote to the 
Corinthians, in his second letter, "filled with comfort," 
"exceeding joyful in all" your "tribulation." 

You have no right to expect to escape trial and 
sorrow. This is a vale of tears through which you 
are traveling. The Word tells us that "we must 
through much tribulation enter the kingdom of God." 
Tribulation is a strong word. It comes from the 
Latin tribitlum, which means a threshing-machine. If 
we are wheat, we must expect to be put through God's 
threshing-machine, and to be ground in God's mill, 
and to be kneaded by God's hands, and to be baked 
in God's oven, that we may become the fine bread of 
his kingdom. But it is God's will that you should 
be "exceeding joyful in all" your "tribulations." 

Why is it that the happiest persons in the world 
are those who suffer the worst afflictions? Because 
they are filled with the Comforter. How could the 
martyrs sing in the midst of the fire? How could they 



The Fullness of the Spirit. 173 

shout for joy when their flesh was being torn from 
their bones with red-hot pinchers? Because the Holy 
Ghost, whom Christ calls the Comforter, dwelt in their 
hearts, and filled their inmost being with his glorious 
presence. With one possible exception, the happiest 
person I ever saw was an old minister, cast off to die 
in the poor-house. Whenever I held service there, 
he always sat right in front of the pulpit, so happy that 
his poor, feeble body could hardly hold his soul. The 
last time I saw him, he lay on his cot in his little cell, 
more triumphant and exultant than a king on his 
throne. What made Father Daniels so happy? He 
had nothing in this world to make him happy; but 
everything to make him miserable. He was happy 
because the Comforter filled his soul. A few months 
ago a lady, who has grown old in the service of Christ 
and his Church, told me something of her earlier ex- 
perience. She had two beautiful boys, her only chil- 
dren, whom she buried the same day. Her grief at 
their death was overwhelming; it seemed to her that 
she should die; that her heart would break. But she 
shut herself in her closet, and prayed that God would 
fill her with his Spirit. Her prayer was answered, 
and, a quarter of a century after, she could declare 
that the hour when she rode behind the hearse which 
bore the bodies of her little ones to the grave-yard 
was the brightest and best in her life. The Holy Com- 
forter filled her soul. That explains what otherwise 
would be a perplexing mystery. Set this down in your 
mind, as the second result of being "filled with the 
Spirit," that the severest trials and afflictions, which 
this life can bring to you, will only make your interior 
sky more bright and cloudless and blue. 

The Holy Ghost is called the Free Spirit because 



174 The Wells of Salvation. 

he breaks off the shackles of sin, and brings the re- 
deemed soul into the ''glorious light and liberty of the 
sons of God." The believer who is filled with the 
Free Spirit is free in the highest sense of that word, 
for Christ says, "If the Son therefore shall make you 
free, ye shall be free indeed." There are many true 
Christians who do not know what perfect freedom is. 
They have heard Christ's great "Emancipation Proc- 
lamation," and have fled from the bondage of sin; 
but some of the shackles of their old bondage still 
hang to them. They are in bondage to fear, "the fear 
of man," which "bringeth a snare." They are so 
bound and hampered with the fear of man that they 
have no liberty in prayer and testimony in the house 
of God. It is a heavy cross for them to stand up 
among the people of God and declare their purpose 
to serve him. If they perform this duty, it is with 
much trembling and little satisfaction ; and the uncon- 
verted who may be present are not led by their words 
to glorify God. Those who suffer this slavish fear 
of man are so fettered by it that they can not go to the 
man who lives across the street and warn him of his 
danger, and exhort him to give his heart to God. 
Everything which they do for Christ and his cause 
they do in fearfulness and trembling, goaded on by 
duty and conscience. They are like a man running a 
race for a prize with shackles on his ankles, and his 
hands bound behind his back. 

On the other hand, when the believer is filled with 
the Free Spirit, all the shackles and weights and clogs 
are forever gone, and his soul is like an eagle which 
has escaped from a cage, spreading its broad pinions 
for a flight toward the sun. It is no longer a cross to 



The Fullness of the Spirit. 175 

speak for Jesus; it is a glorious privilege. He would 
gladly stand on some eminence, where all the world 
could see and hear, and declare what God has done 
for his soul. If God should send, he could stand before 
kings and exhort them to repentance. "Where the 
Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." When you are 
"filled with the Spirit," you will have perfect freedom. 
O, what prayer-meetings, what class-meetings, what 
love-feasts we should have, if all our members were 
filled with the "Free Spirit!" What songs, what fer- 
vent prayers, what glowing testimonies ! What multi- 
tudes would be convinced of the reality of our religion, 
and would seek the same liberty with which the Spirit 
has made us free! 

The Holy Ghost is called the Spirit of might. 
Might means strength, power. God wants all his 
people to be mighty, strong, powerful. There is much 
work to be done for God; there are many great bat- 
tles to be fought; there are many strong enemies to 
overcome; there are many giant evils to be over- 
thrown; the world is to be conquered for truth and 
righteousness. The time is gone by — if ever there was 
a' time — for weak, puny, nerveless, flabby, spineless 
men and women in the army of the Lord. Again and 
again and again we are commanded in the Bible to 
be strong. It is an absolute necessity that we should 
be strong. Why should we not be strong? "Hast 
thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the ever- 
lasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the 
earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no 
searching of his understanding. He giveth power to 
the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth 
strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, 



176 The Wells of Salvation. 

and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that 
wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they 
shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, 
and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint," 

If you will wait on the Lord, in earnest, believing 
prayer, he will fill you with his Spirit — the "Spirit of 
might" — and you will be strong to do all the work 
which he would have you do, and to overcome all the 
obstacles which stand between you and heaven. To 
be filled with the Spirit is to be filled with power. 
When you are filled with the Spirit, you will have 
power to overcome temptation, power to pray, power 
to testify, power to persuade men to give their hearts 
to God. 

How do you account for the fact that that young 
lady, in the second century, who was tempted by the 
fear of an awful death, and by the entreaties of her 
friends, to sacrifice to Diana, chose Christ, and went 
to the stake without the least manifestation of fear, 
rejoicing that she was counted worthy to suffer for the 
truth? The answer is very easy; she was filled with 
the Spirit of might. How r do you account for the 
fact that Queen Mary of Scotland feared the prayers 
of John Knox more than all the armies of England? 
Because that rugged Scotch reformer was filled with 
the Spirit of might. Why were three thousand souls 
converted under one sermon preached by Peter on 
the day of Pentecost? Because the preacher had just 
been filled with the Spirit of might. Why have such 
marvelous and powerful revivals broken out and 
swept over some communities, with apparently little 
human effort, while in other instances, in seemingly 
more favorable circumstances, the most laborious and 



The Fullness of the Spirit. 177 

long-continued efforts have borne very little fruit? 
You need not go very far for an answer. In the former 
case, there were a few devoted men and women who 
"were filled with the Spirit of might; in the latter case, 
those who labored depended on human wisdom and 
the power of man. 

The Bible declares that "one" shall "chase a thou- 
sand, and two put ten thousand to flight." When and 
how shall that be? When the one and the two are 
filled with the Spirit of might. The minister who is 
filled with the Spirit of might will generally have 
revivals wherever he goes. The class-leader who is 
filled with the Spirit of might will have a meeting to 
which the saints will delight to resort, and in which 
sinners will be converted to Christ. The Sunday- 
school teacher who is filled with the Spirit of might 
will, sooner or later, see all his scholars walking in the 
way to heaven. If the members of this Church would 
generally be filled with the Spirit of might, a sweeping 
revival would visit this community as surely as day 
follows night. Will you refuse the fullness of the 
Spirit and be babies in the family of God, or will you 
obey the text and be giants in the camp? 

The Holy Ghost is called the Spirit of burning. 
Many times in the Word of God fire is used as the 
symbol of the Spirit. John the Baptist, prophesying 
of Christ, said : "I indeed baptize you with water unto 
repentance; but he that cometh after me is mightier 
than I; he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and 
with fire." On the day of Pentecost, when the dis- 
ciples were assembled in the upper room, "there ap- 
peared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it 
sat upon each of them; and they were all filled with 



178 The Wells of Salvation. 

the Holy Ghost." With the same thought in our 
minds, we sing: 

" O that in me the sacred fire 
Might now begin to glow ; 
Burn up the dross of base desire, 
And make the mountains flow! 

O that it now from heaven might fall, 

And all my sins consume ! 
Come, Holy Ghost, for thee I call ; 

Spirit of burning, come. 

Refining fire, go through my heart; 

Illuminate my soul ; 
Scatter thy life through every part, 

And sanctify the whole." 

The Holy Ghost is called the Spirit of burning 
because, when he comes into the believing heart to 
abide there, he burns out, and burns up, all sin. Sin 
can no more exist in the heart that is filled with the 
Spirit, than thistledown and cobweb could exist in 
Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace. Some persons won- 
der how the Christian can be saved from all sin; how 
he can get rid of the corrupt and depraved nature 
which he has inherited from Adam. Many theologians 
insist that a man can not thus be saved; that right- 
eousness and unrighteousness, light and darkness, 
holiness and sin, must live together in the soul as long 
as we are in the body. But the wonder really is how 
sin and corruption can escape utter annihilation when 
the Almighty Spirit of burning comes in and fills the 
soul. The wonder is not how the flames of the red- 
hot furnace can devour the thistle-down; the wonder 
is how the thistle-down can exist the thousandth part 
of a second in a flame which turns flint to wax 



The Fullness of the Spirit, 179 

and sand to glass. No scientist would think of limit- 
ing the power of the furnace to consume the thistle- 
down. No Christian ought to think of limiting the 
power of the Spirit of burning to consume the last 
remains of sin. We admit that sin and depravity are 
tremendous and awful realities, whose magnitude and 
enormity can not be exaggerated. But we would, 
at the same time, remind you that the Holy Ghost 
is the Almighty and Infinite Spirit of burning. Name 
all the forms and shades which depravity can assume 
in the regenerated heart, and we assure you, on the 
authority of God's Word, that the Spirit of burning 
will consume and annihilate them every one. 

Since your conversion, has there lurked in the 
secret chambers of your soul a foul spirit of "green- 
eyed jealousy?" Are you inclined to be bitter and un- 
happy when some other person receives the honors 
and praises which you think should be yours? When 
some brother or sister in the Church is elected to an 
office instead of yourself, do you feel the least shadow 
of resentment, and are you any less ready to work for 
God than you were before? Do you stay away from 
the Lord's table, or take a back seat in the prayer- 
meeting, because your feelings and prejudices are 
not respected as you think they ought to be? That 
mean and hateful thing in you is jealousy. You can 
not take it to heaven. You ought to say to it: 

" O jealousy ! thou art nurst in hell : 
Depart from hence, and therein dwell." 

When you are rilled with the Spirit of burning, 
that jealous nature of yours will utterly disappear, 
you will be as free from it as though you had never 
had it. After you have experienced the fullness of 



180 The Wells of Salvation. 

the Spirit, you can sing in the lowest place in the 
choir as sweetly as in the highest; if you are expelled 
from the choir, you can sing just as sweetly in the 
congregation. Not a shadow of hell's jealousy can 
linger in the soul, when heaven's dove, the Holy 
Ghost, fills this humble temple with its hallowed 
presence. 

Anger is another form of depravity which torments 
many Christians. I need not describe it; you are fa- 
miliar with its hateful features. You know that God 
hates it. You know that it belongs to hell, and not 
to heaven. You could no more carry it to heaven 
than you could go to a wedding-feast with a rattle- 
snake coiled about your neck. All anger must be 
burned out of your heart, here and now. Before your 
conversion you were a slave to your angry temper. 
Now you have it largely in control, by the grace of 
God. But you often feel it rising up within, and often 
it gets the mastery over your will. As you yourself 
express it, "You are mad." You use those words as 
though you thought it a trifling thing to give way 
to the passion of anger. But the fact is, you have no 
more right to "get mad" than you have to swear, or 
lie, or steal. What would become of your soul if you 
should die in a fit of anger? You certainly could not 
enter heaven. But you tell us that you can not help 
feeling angry sometimes. You can not, of yourself. 
But when you are filled with the Spirit, he will burn 
out the last and least remains of that old passionate 
nature, and you will be as free from it as though you 
had never had it. At all events — not to go into the 
psychology of the matter — as long as you retain the 
fullness of the Spirit, you will have no consciousness 



The Fullness of the Spirit. i8r 

of the presence of any disposition to anger in your 
heart. 

What has just been said of jealousy and anger 
may be said with equal truth of all other evil passions 
and "roots of bitterness," which remain in the soul 
after regeneration. When the Spirit of burning fills 
the heart, they will disappear, consumed by the fiery 
breath of the Almighty. I am aware that some Chris- 
tian thinkers, who claim to be philosophers, affirm 
that depravity, having its root in our physical nature, 
must remain till we "shuffle off this mortal coil." They 
say that the Holy Ghost, in sanctification, represses, 
but does not annihilate our depravity. Well! we will 
not dispute about words; but we hold that when the 
Holy Ghost fills the soul, he burns out and extermi- 
nates all the remains of the carnal mind, so far as our 
consciousness is concerned, so that we seem to be 
perfectly clean, and God declares that we are "entirely 
sanctified," "holy," and "whiter than snow." Whether 
this "burning" be a repression of sin or its utter anni- 
hilation, this much is certain, the Bible never uses the 
word repression, but always uses such words as "cru- 
cify," "destroy," and "kill." Note the word "crucify." 
We are commanded to crucify "our old man." Now 
when a man is crucified, he dies. He may writhe upon 
the cross for some days; but death is sure to come at 
last, unless he is taken down. If we nail our old carnal 
nature to the cross and leave it there, it will die. The 
difficulty with many is, that they crucify their deprav- 
ity Sunday morning, and take the old villain down 
Sunday night, and plaster up his wounds, and put cam- 
phor to his nose; and he lives as strong and ugly as 
he was before. You may say that the work of the 



1 82 The Wells of Salvation. 

Holy Ghost in sanctification is repression, but I pre- 
fer to use God's words, "crucify," ''destroy," "kill," 
"burn." Again I affirm, on the authority of the letter 
of God's Word, that when the Holy Spirit fills your 
being with his hallowed presence, he will burn out 
all sin and all remains of your corrupt and depraved 
nature. 

The Holy Ghost is called the Spirit of holiness 
because holiness, in human character, is his work, 
from first to last. Holiness is positive as well as nega- 
tive. It is not merely the extermination of sin and 
corruption from the heart. It is also the implanting 
and perfecting of all virtues and excellencies. Paul 
tells us, in his letter to the Galatians, that the works 
of the flesh are "adultery, fornication, uncleanness, 
lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, 
emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, 
murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like." 

On its negative side, holiness consists in the burn- 
ing out from the soul of all these things, and of all their 
roots, by the Spirit of burning. In the same chapter 
of Galatians, Paul goes on to say: "But the fruit of the 
Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, 
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." 

On its positive side, holiness is the transplanting 
of all these beautiful plants, from the garden of the 
Lord, into the garden of the soul, by the Holy Spirit, 
and their steady growth up into maturity under the 
Spirit's culture. 

Holiness, both positive and negative, begins in 
regeneration. Whenever a soul is born of the Spirit, 
all the works of the flesh, enumerated by Paul, are 
cut off close to the roots, and consumed to ashes. At 
the same moment, the Heavenly Gardener, the Holy 



The Fullness of the Spirit. 183 

Spirit, implants love, joy, peace, and all their kindred 
virtues. These begin to grow and to fill the soul with 
fragrance. But the old roots of bitterness soon begin 
to sprout. They do not kill the fruits of the Spirit, 
but they greatly hinder their growth. In entire sancti- 
fication, the Spirit of burning utterly consumes all 
the roots of bitterness, and fills the soul with pure and 
perfect love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, 
goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. 

In the heart which is entirely sanctified — or, what 
is the same thing, filled with the Spirit — the graces 
of the Spirit are perfect, in the sense that all opposing 
qualities and dispositions have been expelled, and they 
exist in an unmixed state. They are not perfect in 
the sense they have reached the limit of their growth. 
They are just ready to grow, and, so long as the heart 
is filled with the Spirit, they will grow. The limit of 
their growth will not be reached in time, probably not 
in eternity. This growth is the work of the Spirit of 
holiness. Some foolishly imagine that growth ceases 
when the soul is filled with the Spirit. A greater mis- 
take could hardly be made. If you would grow in 
grace, in the real meaning of the word growth; if you 
would grow rapidly and symmetrically up into ma- 
turity of Christian character, be filled with the Spirit. 
The Bible does not teach any such thing as growth 
into holiness; but it does teach growth in holiness. 
There is no growth in holiness worth the name until 
the soul is filled with the Spirit of holiness. When 
the Third Person of the Trinity comes into your soul, 
takes full possession and makes it his place of resi- 
dence, expelling, of course, everything which is not 
according to his will, how rapidly you will grow in the 
likeness of Jesus Christ, whom the Spirit represents! 



1 84 The Wells of Salvation. 

We must not dismiss this subject without saying 
something in answer to the question: "How may we 
be filled with the Spirit?" This question has been an- 
swered so many times that the subject would almost 
seem to be exhausted. If I were to answer the ques- 
tion in one word, it would be "Pray." Of course, I 
mean pray in faith. Jesus said: "If ye then, being evil, 
know how to give good gifts unto your children, how 
much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy 
Spirit to them that ask him?" The disciples prayed 
for the Spirit ten days. 

If you will do these five things, I am sure you 
will soon be filled with the Spirit: First, confess to 
God and his people, that you have long disregarded 
the command of the text, and that you are determined 
to seek the fullness of the Spirit till you have re- 
ceived; second, make everything right between you 
and your neighbor, if there be anything which needs 
to be made right ; third, take up every duty which you 
have neglected, whatever self-crucifixion it may cost; 
fourth, dedicate yourself to a life of absolute devotion 
to God; fifth, shut yourself into your closet, and tel'. 
God, on your knees, that you will not let him go till 
the blessing is yours. Begin now, and before the 
tenth day such a change will come over your religious 
life that your nearest friend will hardly know you. 



X. 

FULL SALVATION. 

"Thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his 
people from their sins." — MATT. I, 21. 

TV T EARLY all names of persons in the Bible are sig- 
* ^ nificant. They have a meaning- derived from 
some circumstance connected with the birth or early 
life of the persons who bore them, or descriptive of 
the life-mission which they were called to fulfill. For 
example, the great prophet who judged Israel for 
half a hundred years, and anointed two kings, Saul and 
David, was named Samuel by his mother because he 
had been "asked of God," and was given in answer 
to prayer. Samuel means, in the Hebrew tongue, 
"asked of God." Pharaoh's daughter named the little 
boy whom she found in the basket of rushes by the 
river's brink, Moses, which means "taken out," be- 
cause she had taken him out of the water. God 
changed the name of the patriarch Abram to Abra- 
ham, which means "the father of a great multitude," 
in allusion to the prophetic fact that his seed were to 
become like the stars of heaven and the sand which 
is upon the sea-shore in number. 

The text contains the most precious of all names, 
and also gives its meaning. A man named Joseph, 
of the tribe of Judah, a lineal descendant of King 
David, was about to marry a maiden named Mary. 
Before the wedding-day arrived, an angel appeared to 
Joseph, and foretold the birth of a son. 'And," said 

185 



1 86 The Wells of Salvation. 

the same heavenly messenger, "thou shalt call his 
name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their 
sins." 

The word Jesus means Savior. It is the same 
word as the Old Testament name Joshua. Joshua is 
the Hebrew form; Jesus is the Greek. Joshua was 
the savior of his people. He saved them from tem- 
poral calamities. He saved them from enemies who 
would have destroyed them from off the face of the 
earth. He led them out of the wilderness, where they 
had wandered for forty years, into a land of exceed- 
ing richness and beauty, and gave them fields and cities 
to be their everlasting possession. They never forgot 
their great national deliverer. 

Jesus came into the world to save the world. He 
was not merely a great teacher, a great reformer, a 
great humanitarian. He was a Savior. His very 
name declares the fact. He came to save his people 
from their sins. In this regard he stands alone. He 
is the only savior from sin who has ever stood upon 
the earth. 

We might compare all who have been called 
saviors to physicians. Man is afflicted with a con- 
stitutional disease. Its name is sin. It manifests its 
presence in the moral system in surface eruptions of 
murder, adultery, intemperance, profanity, lying, and 
a hundred other tormenting disorders. Christ Jesus 
promises to cure the real disease, and to so thoroughly 
cleanse the entire system as to remove all traces of 
the specific complaints and local pains. The other 
doctors can do nothing better than to make external 
applications of liniments and salves, which not only do 
not remove the cause of the several aches and pains, 



Full Salvation. 187 

but, in many cases, actually aggravate the trouble 
by driving the disease in upon the vital organs. 

We might make another comparison. Man has 
fallen from the heights of original holiness into a 
deep and loathsome pit. He can not get out. If left 
to himself, he must soon die a fearful death. Jesus 
and the other so-called saviors come and stand at 
the mouth of the pit. Each carries a rope. Each 
purposes to save the wretch who is, all the while, send- 
ing up agonizing cries for help from the darkness 
below. They proceed to the work before them. One 
lets down a bottle of water; another a loaf of bread; 
another a box of matches; another a lamp; another 
a tract on the evils and dangers of carelessness. These 
things may afford the man some slight relief for a 
little space. The bread will satisfy his hunger. The 
water will quench his thirst. The matches and lamp 
will dispel the darkness, and show him more clearly 
his wretched condition. And, if he has sufficient con- 
trol over his feelings, he may while away his time, of 
which he has too much, by studying the tract. 

Jesus now crowds his way through the ring. He 
grasps his rope firmly in his hands. It is large and 
strong. His arms are nerved with the strength of 
Omnipotence. What does he intend to do? Does 
he promise better bread, and clearer water, and a more 
brilliant light? No! He pulls the man out of the 
pit, and sets his feet on the solid rock, and makes him 
see the sun and breathe the air of heaven. Such is 
the difference between that -Being to whom the angel 
gave the name Savior and all who have received the 
same title from the lips of men. They have partially 
saved their people from some single evil. He came to 



1 88 The Wells of Salvation. 

save his people from sin, the source and root of all 
evil. 

Notice the word sins. "Thou shalt call his name 
Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins." 
The angel did not say: "Thou shalt call his name 
Jesus; for he shall save his people from hell." Salva- 
tion from hell is all that some persons look for in the 
gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel includes salvation 
from hell; but it is infinitely more than that. 

We can conceive of the Almighty reaching the 
long arm of his omnipotence down into hell, and 
dragging out the devil, and lifting him, dripping with 
the slime of the bottomless pit, up into heaven, among 
the angels and saints. But that would not be salvation. 
Satan would be a lost spirit, if he were in heaven, as 
fully as he is now that he is in hell. 

I can imagine God casting the holiest saint out 
of heaven, down into the lowest abyss of hell. But 
he would be a saved soul still. Enoch and Elijah 
would be saved, if they were in hell, as fully as they 
are now that they are in heaven. Hell would not 
be hell to a holy soul. Heaven would not be heaven 
to a sinful soul. The sulphurous flames of the infernal 
lake would be like a cool and fragrant breeze to a 
soul cleansed from all the dross of sin. The harps 
of God would be torture to a spirit tainted with sin. 
The saints are not saved because they are in heaven; 
they are in heaven because they are saved. The 
damned are not lost because they are in hell; they are 
in hell because they are lost. When a saved soul 
leaves the body, it will rise into heaven by its own 
lightness. When a lost soul leaves the body, it will 
sink into hell by its own heaviness. The only salva- 
tion is salvation from sin. 



Full Salvation. 189 

Is Jesus able thus to save? Can he perfectly save 
his people from their sins? Look at his name — Jesus, 
Savior. If he is not a perfect Savior, the angel who 
brought his name from heaven, or Almighty God 
who sent it down, made a tremendous blunder, such as 
you would make if you should send an empty bottle, 
labeled "milk," to a starving family across the street. 
Either believe that Jesus is able and willing to save 
you perfectly from sin, or stop using the name Jesus 
in song, or testimony, or prayer. It is blasphemy to 
call him, who was born at Bethlehem and crucified 
at Calvary, Jesus, unless you believe that he is a perfect 
Savior from sin. 

Jesus' first act as a Savior was to atone for the 
sins of the world. He did not die on the cross to 
make God the Father love sinners, or to make him 
willing to save them. He suffered and died to make it 
possible for a God of infinite love to save a rebellious 
world without pulling down the pillars of the uni- 
verse. If God should spare a single sinner without 
an adequate satisfaction rendered to Divine justice, 
he would dethrone himself. The majesty of the law 
must be maintained. This was done when the Son 
of God, God himself, took on him man's nature, and 
suffered in the sinner's stead. He took our place. 
He died that we might live. "He was wounded for 
our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; 
the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and 
with his stripes we are healed." 

Tradition says that when the Roman Republic 
was young, a vast gulf opened in the Forum, as if to 
say that the meeting-place of the Roman people should 
be no more. The prophets and diviners, being con- 
sulted, declared that the gods forbade the gulf to 



190 The Wells of Salvation. 

close till the most precious thing in Rome had been 
cast into the yawning abyss. When all men were 
looking at each other, wondering what that most pre- 
cious thing might be, a noble young man spake out 
and said: "Rome's true riches are her brave men." 
Thus having spoken, he put on his armor, mounted 
his war-horse, and leaped into the gulf. No sooner 
was this done than the earth closed, and became solid 
as before. The people beheld the wonder, and cried 
aloud, "Curtius is the savior of Rome." 

A great gulf had opened between heaven and 
earth, between God and sinful man. To bridge that 
gulf — to make it wholly cease to be — the Eternal Son 
of God leaped into the chasm, while all the angels 
shouted, "Behold the Savior of mankind!" 

A certain regiment in an army had committed 
some breach of discipline, for which it was sentenced 
to suffer decimation; that is, every tenth man was to be 
put to death, while the rest were spared. The regi- 
ment was drawn up in line. An officer began at one 
end of the line, and counted off one, two, three, four, 
five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. The tenth man was 
dragged out of the ranks, and led away to execution. 

Standing side by side, far down the line, were a 
father and son. Running his eye swiftly along from 
man to man, the father saw that one of the fatal tens 
would fall upon his son. Instantly he resolved to 
save him by dying in his stead. Seizing a moment 
when the officers were looking the other way, he 
stepped back out of the line, pushed the boy one place 
to the right, and thrust himself into the deadly gap. 
A few minutes later an officer, pointing his finger at 
him, said "ten;" and the father joyfully gave himself 
up to die for one whose life was far dearer to him than 



Full Salvation. 191 

his own. This may be a poor, imperfect illustration; 
but, in some such a way, Jesus took our place, and died 
that we might be saved. "By the grace of God" he 
tasted death for every man. Every child of Adam, 
when he is born into the world, is met at the threshold 
of existence by "the blood of the everlasting cove- 
nant," and crosses that threshold under redemption's 
rainbow arch. 

All mankind have been redeemed; but only those 
are saved who accept redemption through faith in the 
atoning blood. Having redeemed the race, Jesus 
offers pardon, forgiveness, justification, to every man. 
The need of justification arises from the fact that all 
men have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. 
The past of every unforgiven sinner is an immense 
book, bound in black. Memory is the iron clasp. 
When the man opens the lids and runs his eyes over 
the pages, he finds them black with sin. Every line is 
the record of some transgression against the Majesty 
of heaven. If he should try to count them, he would 
find them more in number than the hairs upon his 
head. The smallest is heavy enough to sink his soul 
in hell. The combined mass would drag him down 
to the lowest depth of eternal horror and despair. 

What shall the sinner do ? Shall he sprinkle every 
page with tears of contrition and penitential grief? 
No. If he could weep a million years, not one of those 
dismal stains would be washed away. Shall he make 
a solemn vow of future obedience to the Divine com- 
mands? No. If henceforth he could live a life of 
absolute perfection, that would not change the past; 
the black record would still stand against him without 
the loss of a single word. What shall he do then? 

There is only one thing that he can do. Loathing 



192 The Wells of Salvation. 

and forsaking his sins, because they are hateful to 
God, and making an inviolable vow of perfect and 
everlasting obedience, let him cast himself, by faith, 
on the merits and mercy of Christ. What will be the 
result? In an instant, Jesus, his Redeemer and Savior, 
will draw his bleeding hand over the foul and blotted 
pages, and make them, every one, as white as snow. 

That act is pardon, forgiveness, justification. Use 
whichever term you please — they all have exactly the 
same meaning. If the worst sinner on earth will stop 
sinning, promise to sin no more, and believe in Jesus 
Christ as his atoning sacrifice, God will, for Jesus' sake, 
blot out all his transgressions, and regard and treat 
him as though he had never sinned. 

Mark those words — all his transgressions. When 
the Savior forgives, he forgives every sin. The act 
of justification is a perfected act. Jesus does not for- 
give sins one by one. He forgives sins in the mass. 
He does not take away the mountain of guilt by re- 
moving one grain of sand at a time. He lifts the whole 
mountain all at once, and hurls it into the sea of for- 
getfulness in the twinkling of an eye. 

Is anything further needed to constitute a perfect 
salvation from sin? Think what is the condition of 
the natural heart. It is prone to evil. It finds it easier 
to do wrong than to do right. It can not do the will 
of God. "It is enmity against God: it is not subject 
to the law of God; neither indeed can be." Its ten- 
dencies are all downward, away from God, into lower 
depths of sin and degradation. It is therefore very 
evident that, if the work of salvation should stop with 
pardon, the justified sinner would recommence at 
once a life of sin, and would soon run up another score 
as long and black and damning as the one which the 



Full Salvation. 193 

blood of Jesus had washed away. Such a salvation 
would be a lie and a fraud. If there were any salva- 
tion at all in such a state, it would be salvation in sin; 
certainly it is not the salvation from sin, which our 
text proclaims. 

There is another step. The moment our Jesus 
justifies, he regenerates the sinner. The moment he 
forgives his sins, he takes away the love of sin. The 
moment he blots out the transgressions of the past, 
he gives strength to abstain from sin in the future. 
Having canceled sin, he breaks its power and sets the 
prisoner free. I have already given the name of this 
change. It is regeneration, or the new birth. We 
commonly call it conversion. The Christian, the re- 
generated man, therefore, is one whose past sins have 
been blotted out, and in whose heart the power of sin 
has been broken so completely that it has no dominion 
over him. He does not any longer trample on the 
laws of God. He does not commit sin. 

The Apostle John most beautifully describes the 
condition of the true child of God in these words: 
"Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth 
righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous. 
He that committeth sin is of the devil: for the devil 
sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose was 
the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy 
the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God 
doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him, 
and he can not sin, because he is born of God. In this 
the children of God are manifest and the children of 
the devil." 

Notice how strong the language is: "Whoso- 
ever" — that is, every one who — "is born of God doth 
not commit sin; for his seed" — that is, the seed of 

13 



194 The Wells of Salvation. 

God — "remaineth in him, and he can not sin, because 
he is born of God." These Divine words must not be 
explained away or toned down. They are so plain 
that it is difficult to say anything which can make their 
meaning more evident. We may, however, say this: 
"His seed," God's seed, is that new principle of life 
which God has planted in the soul, living and growing 
there, and holding the old carnal nature in subjection. 
The verb "is born" is in the perfect tense, and signifies 
that the act, expressed by the verb, was completed 
in past time, and that the resultant state has continued 
up to the present moment. "Whosoever is born of 
God" means every person who was born of God and 
now is in the regenerate state. Whosoever is now 
born of God doth not commit sin — is not now com- 
mitting sin. If you are now committing any sinful 
act — if you are now doing anything which you know to 
be opposed to the law of God — you are not now born 
of God. God's seed — the life principle which God has 
implanted — remains in him who is now born of God, 
and so long as it remains, he can not sin. 

The expression, "Whosoever is born of God can 
not sin," confounds and stumbles many who read the 
Bible. And yet there is nothing about it hard to un- 
derstand. The man who is born of God is justified — 
God counts him just, righteous. But God can not 
justify a man who is committing sin. If he should, he 
would justify sin, and would be a sinner himself. 
Therefore a man can not be justified and be commit- 
ting sin at the same time. A child of God can not be 
a child of the devil also. An honest man can not steal. 
That is, a man can not be honest and dishonest at 
the same time. A truthful man can not lie. A tem- 
perate man can not get drunk. A meek man can not 



Full Salvation. 195 

get angry. A virtuous man can not commit adultery. 
A man who loves his neighbor can not commit mur- 
der. A good man can not be bad. A justified man 
can not be condemned. A saved man can not be a 
sinner. A "born-of-God" man can not commit sin. 

Every person who experiences justification and 
regeneration passes instantly into a state where, being 
"kept by the power of God through faith," he does not 
transgress any known law of God. He can say, at the 
threshold of that experience and every moment while 
he walks therein, "There is now no condemnation" to 
me who am "in Christ Jesus, who walks not after the 
flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit 
of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law 
of sin and death." If before he was a liar, now he al- 
ways tells the truth; if he was a thief, now he never 
steals; if he was a drunkard, now he is sober; if he 
was passionate, now he does not get angry; whereas 
he was a sinner, now he delights to do the will of God. 

It is a most dangerous and damnable doctrine that 
the regenerate children of God can, and must, keep 
on committing sinful acts and words every day. If 
that be so, how much sin can a man commit and still 
be a child of God? Can he murder? Can he steal? 
Can he break the seventh commandment? Can he 
get drunk? Can he swear? Can he give vent to angry 
passions? Can he slander his neighbor? Can he ac- 
cept bribes? Can he gamble? Can he chase after the 
follies of Vanity Fair? 

If you admit sin into the regenerate life, where are 
you going to draw the line? Shall it be half and half- 
half sin and half righteousness? Or shall it be three- 
quarters righteousness and one-quarter sin? Or shall 
it be nine-tenths righteousness and one-tenth sin? 



196 The Wells of Salvation. 

Nay! nay! It must be all righteouness. "Ye can not 
serve God and mammon." "Whosoever committeth 
sin is the slave of sin." God is a prohibitionist. He 
condemns all sin, and all who sin. If you and I are 
this moment the children of God, we are keeping all 
his commandments which are known to us; we are 
now, by the regenerating and keeping power of our 
Savior, Christ, living without actual sin; Christ reigns 
in our hearts, his love is shed abroad in our souls, all 
our evil passions are under our feet, and we are free 
to do our Heavenly Master's will. 

This is the salvation from sin which Jesus came 
to bring. Any pretended salvation which does not 
save from sin, from its power as well as its guilt, is no 
salvation at all. If you are living in the commission 
of known sin, Christ is not your Savior; for he saves 
his people from their sins. A drunkard is not saved 
from drunkenness if he keeps on getting drunk. A 
liar is not saved from lying if he keeps on telling lies. 
A profane swearer is not saved from profanity if he 
keeps on swearing. A sinner is not saved from sin 
if he keeps on committing actual sin, in deed or word. 
Salvation from sin is salvation from the commission 
of sin. 

"But," you ask, "is it impossible for one who is in 
the state of regeneration to commit an act which he 
knows to be sinful?" By no means. There is no state 
of grace in this world so high that a man can not fall 
from it into sin and condemnation. "But what be- 
comes of the justified and regenerated man who falls 
into sin?" He loses his justification and regeneration, 
as David did when he committed the twin crimes of 
adultery and murder. Had David died before he re- 
pented, he would surely have gone to hell. But the 



Full Salvation. 197 

Spirit does not immediately leave the regenerated 
man who falls into sin; and he will probably speedily 
repent and regain the favor of God. If not, he soon 
begins a downward slide, which, ere long, plunges 
him into deeper darkness than ever he knew before 
he sought the Lord. 

But let that go. This is what I now insist upon: 
Jesus saves "his people from their sins" in such a sense 
and to such a degree that all who walk in the light of 
justifying and regenerating grace are kept by the 
power of God, so that they do not knowingly trans- 
gress any of the Divine commands. In that sense, 
justification and regeneration are a sinless state. Let 
no man say that we ignore and minify the new birth. 
We exalt and magnify it. It is a grand and glorious 
change, by which a child of the devil becomes a son 
of God. 

Is anything more than justification and regener- 
ation needed to make the soul's salvation perfect and 
complete? I will relate the experience of one of the 
fathers of Methodism. Soon after his conversion, 
while he was walking in the bright light of regener- 
ating grace, and knew by the witness of the Spirit that 
he was a child of God, he became aware of the presence 
of evil passions in his heart. They were in subjection. 
They had no dominion over his soul. Christ sat on 
the throne in the center of his being. Yet they were 
alive. They gave him great annoyance. They often 
struggled fiercely for the mastery over his will. He 
was forced to keep a constant watch, and to wage a 
constant war, to prevent them from getting the upper 
hand and dragging him back into the bondage of sin. 

He says: "My heart appeared to me as a small 
garden with a large stump of a tree in it, which had 



198 The Wells of Salvation. 

recently been cut down level with the ground, and a 
little loose earth strewed over it. Seeing something 
shooting up, which I did not like, and attempting to 
pluck it up, I found the deadly remains of the carnal 
mind." The work of salvation was not complete in 
that man; he was not wholly saved from sin. He was 
entirely justified, and entirely regenerated; but he 
was not entirely purified. 

He goes on with the relation of his experience. 
He saw that what he needed was inward holiness. He 
began to search the Scriptures. He found these pre- 
cious words: "I will sprinkle clean water upon you, 
and ye shall be clean from all your filthiness, and from 
all your idols I will cleanse you." Then he began to 
call on the Lamb of God with all his might, that he 
would fulfill that promise in him. At length, while 
on his knees in prayer, the great deliverance came. 
Refining fire went through his heart, illuminated his 
soul, scattered divine life through every part, and 
sanctified the whole. He then received, as he most 
emphatically declares, the clear witness of the Spirit 
that the blood of Christ cleansed him from all sin. 
That witness was Carvosso. 

George Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends, 
gives his testimony in these words: "I loved the Savior, 
and he was very precious to me. But I found some- 
thing in my heart which would not be sweet, some- 
thing that would not be patient, something that would 
not be kind. I tried what I could do to keep it down ; 
but it was still there. Then I asked Jesus to do some- 
thing for me. And when I gave him my will, he took 
everything out of my heart that would not be sweet 
and patient and kind, and shut the door." 

The old stump in Carvosso's spiritual garden, the 



Full Salvation. 199 

something 1 in George Fox's heart which would not 
be sweet and patient and kind, was the old Adam, the 
carnal mind, the depraved nature, inbred sin. The 
salvation which Jesus came to bring includes salva- 
tion from inbred sin. It is his plan and will to pull 
the old stump out of the garden of the soul; to take 
out from the heart everything that will not be sweet 
and patient and kind, and to shut the door against 
the entrance of everything which can not enter heaven. 

Inbred sin is like a wolf. Before justification and 
regeneration he has complete mastery in the soul. 
He tears in pieces and devours every good thing which 
comes in his way. At conversion, the man is released. 
He springs to his feet, and asserts his liberty. He 
turns upon the wolf with the strength of God in his 
arms, and seizes the bloody monster by the throat. 
The man is master now. His mastery is complete. 

But the wolf is not dead. The man has him by 
the throat, and must exert all his power every mo- 
ment, lest his old enemy shall escape his clutch and 
tear him in pieces. It is a grand victory to have the 
wolf of inbred sin by the throat. That is the victory 
of justification and regeneration. But there is a greater 
victory still. Weary and fainting, and almost dis- 
couraged, the man cries aloud, "Jesus, help!" Jesus, 
the Almighty Savior, comes. With that hand which 
throttled the cyclone on stormy Gennesaret, with 
that hand which broke the adamantine bars of the 
kingdom of death, he strikes the wolf of inbred sin 
between the eyes, and crushes his skull, and kills him 
as dead as a stone. 

That part of Christ's work of salvation is called, 
in the Bible, "entire sanctification." Sanctification 
means purification. It means holiness. Holiness, 



200 The Wells of Salvation. 

sanctification, begins with regeneration. Regener- 
ation, conversion, is purification begun. Entire sanc- 
tification is purification completed. Every regener- 
ated soul longs after entire sanctification. Every 
regenerated soul loathes the wolf of carnal passion and 
desire, and longs to see him dead. 

This is the salvation which Jesus gives. It is not 
salvation from imperfection of judgment, from weak- 
ness of memory, or from infirmities of body. It is 
not salvation from temptations, or sorrows, or losses, 
or crosses, or mistakes, or involuntary deviations from 
the line of absolute right. It is salvation from sin. 
It is perfect salvation from sin. It is perfect redemp- 
tion and perfect pardon and perfect regeneration and 
perfect sanctification. 

Is Christ your perfect Savior? Is his name Jesus 
to you? Does he now save you from your sins? Has 
the hand-writing of your past transgressions been 
blotted out in his blood? Has a new heart been given 
you? Has the wolf of inbred sin been killed and cast 
out of your soul? If truth compels you to answer 
either of these questions "No," then Jesus is not yet 
Jesus to you. 

Yonder I see a sinking ship. She has struck a 
rock. Her planks are stove. Her ribs are broken. 
The waves are dashing over her decks. The sea is 
pouring into her hold. Her crew and passengers are 
clinging to the bulwarks, and shrieking for help. Be- 
tween the wreck and the shore I see a life-boat skim- 
ming the angry billows. Soon she reaches the wreck. 
A rope is quickly cast. Every soul is rescued. With 
all on board, the life-boat returns in safety to the shore. 

That sinking ship is this world, wrecked by sin. 
We — all mankind — make up the list of passengers and 



Full Salvation. sot 

crew. The life-boat is Christ. He now lies alongside 
our sinking craft. He has room to hold us all. He is 
strong enough to bear us across the foaming billows, 
and land us safe on the eternal shore. We have noth- 
ing to do but to leave this shattered hulk and jump 
into the life-boat. Now let us forsake all our sins and 
leap into the arms of Jesus. His name is "Savior." 
"He is able to save them to the uttermost that come 
unto God by him." 



XI. 

SEVEN GREAT WORDS. 

"It we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, 
and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is 
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us 
from all unrighteousness." — i John i, 8, 9. 

r "FHERE are seven great words in this text. You 
A can easily pick them out. Sin, He, Forgive, 
Cleanse, Confess, Faithful, and Just. This sermon 
will be an attempt to unfold the meaning of each of 
these terms. 

The first great word is Sim Sin is a tremendous 
and awful fact, whose existence no man will deny 
unless he be a willful liar or a fool. If you ask for 
proof of the existence of sin in the world, I point you 
to the wars which have been sweeping over the earth 
in swift succession for six thousand years. An in- 
genius French author, who has a passion for big 
figures, estimates that, since the beginning of Asiatic 
and European history, forty million human lives have 
been destroyed by war each century; and one billion 
two hundred million in all, a number very nearly equal 
to the total population of the globe at the present day. 

According to the estimates of this same cunning 
Frenchman, if the twelve hundred million skeletons 
of war's victims should rise from their bloody dust, and 
climb one upon the shoulders of another, the ladder 
thus formed would reach the moon, coil about that 
body, and, continuing on, mount into infinite space 
four times as far again. 



Seven Great Words. 263 

War costs money as well as blood. About seven 
thousand dollars must be expended to kill one man. 
Every year, Europe spends more than six-teen hundred 
million dollars in shedding her children's blood, or in 
getting ready to shed it; and France spends four hun- 
dred thousand dollars every day. The wars of the 
last hundred years have cost one hundred and forty 
thousand million dollars, without counting the tears, 
the broken hearts, the ruined homes, the frantic wid- 
ows, the starving orphans. 

The most obtuse man can not read a volume of 
ancient or modern history without seeing the word 
sin written all over its pages in letters of blood, shed 
by the red demon of war. History is all war! war! 
war! If you hold up the book, blood! blood! blood! 
seems to drip from every page. War, which is scien- 
tific murder, has been the chief occupation, industry, 
trade, profession, and accomplishment of mankind 
ever since angry Cain murdered his innocent brother, 
Abel. To deny the existence of sin is to deny the 
existence of war; it is to contradict all the history of 
all nations. 

Ever since Noah got drunk on domestic wine, in- 
temperance has been a world-wide and unspeakable 
curse. There are thirty-five millions of drunkards 
in the world to-day: and more than as many more 
are in the devil's military academy, drilling to take 
their places in the drunkard's army. Until you can 
prove that it is a virtuous and noble act for a being 
made in the image of God to drown his reason in the 
alcoholic cup, and then stab his wife, strangle his chil- 
dren, and cut his own throat, you must admit that sin 
is, and that sin is in the world. 

You can not read a single issue of the daily press 



204 The Wells of Salvatlon. 

and say immediately after, "There is no such thing 
as sin." To read the record of one day's crime 
would seem to be enough to make a demon sick at 
heart. What is it? Murders, suicides, assaults, arsons, 
adulteries, incests, abductions, seductions, elopements, 
divorces, thefts, burglaries, robberies, defalcations, 
bank-wreckings, body-snatchings — filth! filth! filth! 
sin! sin! sin! Why, man, you are a fit subject for an 
insane asylum if you say that there is no such thing 
as sin! The most undeniable fact about this world 
is that sin is in it, and all through it. 

But where is sin? It is not in the material world. 
It is not in the trees, or the rocks, or the soil, or the 
seas, or the storms, or the climates, or the reptiles, 
or the beasts. It is in the human heart. It is in the 
universal human heart. It is in your heart, unless 
Almighty God has cast it out. You can not deny this 
Divine impeachment. I dare you to go and stand be- 
fore a mirror, and to look into your own eyes, and to 
say, with your hand on your heart, "I have not sinned." 
If you say that, you deceive yourself, and the truth 
is not in you. If you say that you have not sinned, 
you make God a liar, and his Word is not in you. 

The Word declares that "the Lord looked down 
from heaven upon the children of men to see if there 
were any that did understand and seek God. They are 
all gone aside, they are altogether become filthy: there 
is none that doeth good, no, not one." The same in- 
fallible Book affirms that "the heart" — that is, the 
universal heart, the heart of every man in his natural 
state — "is deceitful above all things, and desperately 
wicked;" that "out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, 
murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, 
blasphemies;" that "the carnal mind is enmity against 



Seven Great Words. 205 

God;" and that "all men have sinned, and come short 
of the glory of God." Again, I say that if you say 
that you have not sinned, you make God a liar, and 
his Word is not in you. If you say that you have 
never sinned, you thereby brand yourself as the great- 
est sinner in the world. 

Shall I speak of the results of sin? Three words 
tell the story — guilt, pollution, death. When you hear 
the word death, do not think of a dead body and a 
grave in the ground. Think of a dead soul, buried in 
hell, the grave of dead souls — dead souls, yet con- 
scious, retrospective, self-condemning, remorseful, 
eternally cut off from hope and banished from God. 

Shall I paint a symbolic picture of sin? I see a 
globe, this world, and twisted around it a serpent, with 
flaming eyes and forked tongue and venomous fangs 
and poisonous sting and slimy scales and deadly coils. 
He is a rattlesnake, an adder, and a boa-constrictor 
combined in one. Ever since the devil, in the form 
of a serpent, entered Eden, the serpent of sin has been 
biting and stinging and crushing the world. 

As I gaze at the horrible picture, the globe becomes 
a heart; and that is the true symbol of sin — a serpent 
coiled around a human heart. That heart is yours, 
my friend; it is mine; it is the heart of every man, 
woman, and child who ever drew the breath of life. 
If you say that, the serpent of sin has never been coiled 
about your heart, so tightly that no human power 
could tear it away, you deceive yourself, and the truth 
is not in you. 

The second great word of the text is He. It is the 
greatest word of the text. It means Jesus Christ. 
What shall I say of this Name? There is enough in 
it for a million sermons. More books have been 



206 The Wells of Salvation. 

written about it than about all other names combined. 
It is the unanimous verdict of the nineteenth century, 
Christians and infidels composing the jury, that Jesus 
Christ was the purest, the wisest, the most eloquent, 
the noblest, the grandest, the most God-like man who 
ever lived. He is revealed to us in the Gospels as a 
being of marvelous power. He could walk on the 
bosom of the storm-lashed sea as you would walk on 
a marble pavement. He could throttle the fiercest 
tornado, and calm it into instant silence, as easily as 
you could crush the tiniest fly. He could drive the 
most deadly diseases out of the bodies of the sick as 
quickly as you can expel the breath from your lips. 
He could keep breaking handfuls of bread from a 
single loaf till five thousand hungry men were satis- 
fied, and then have twelve baskets of fragments left, 
all as easily as you would throw a handful of crumbs 
to a flock of sparrows. He could call back to life a 
man who had been dead four days with as little effort 
as you would put forth to wake a sleeping sentinel. 

We, who believe the Bible, know why Jesus had 
such power. He was the very, eternal God, come 
down to earth in human form for the express purpose 
of killing the serpent of sin. Sin has great power. 
Christ has almighty power. Four thousand years 
in advance, his coming was foretold, his miraculous 
birth was predicted, he was called the Seed of the 
woman, and it*was declared that he should bruise the 
serpent's head. 

His coming and work were foreshadowed in 
heathen mythology. According to the Greek myth, 
when the strong man Hercules was an infant in his 
cradle, two serpents were sent by jealous Juno to de- 
stroy him. The little babe, not terrified by the sight, 



Seven Great Words. 207 

boldly seized them in both his chubby hands, and 
squeezed them to death. Jesus, the Babe of Bethle- 
hem, is our Hercules, our Strong Man, able to squeeze 
to death the twin serpents of outward and inbred sin. 
. Another great personage in Grecian fable was 
Apollo, the son of the Most High God, appearing on 
earth in the form of a young man of the most perfect 
symmetry and beauty. He conferred great benefits 
on humanity by slaying an enormous serpent, named 
Python, which was devastating the world. Christ is 
our Apollo, the very God, the Perfect Man, who has 
come to earth to slay the python of sin. He is the 
only being in the universe who can untwist the coils 
of the serpent around your heart, crush its hateful 
head, and deliver you from "the bitter pains of eternal 
death." 

The third great word of the text is Forgive. The 
first thing which Jesus does for us in saving our souls 
is to forgive the sins which we have committed. This 
blessed gospel declares that "the Son of man hath 
power on earth to forgive sins." 

Do you understand why we need to have our sins 
forgiven? Do you understand what forgiveness is? 
Perhaps some simple illustrations will make the matter 
plain. You own a farm, a homestead. You have a 
clear and perfect title to the property. You have a 
deed, signed, sealed, acknowledged, and recorded. 
But you get in debt. You can not, or do not, make 
ends meet. Month after month, and year after year, 
you buy goods on credit, and borrow money, of a cer- 
tain man. Principal and interest increase at a fearful 
rate. At length your total liabilities equal your total 
assets. Then the crash comes. Your creditor sues 
and gets judgment against you. An execution. is 



2o8 The Wells of Salvation. 

issued against your homestead. The sheriff names a 
day when he will sell all you have at public auction 
to the highest bidder. The day arrives. A crowd of 
bidders are present. The sheriff puts up the walls 
and roof which have so long sheltered you and your 
loved ones, and the sacred soil on which they stand, 
and is on the point of knocking them off to a stranger. 
One minute more and you will be an outcast and a 
beggar. No power on earth can save you, unless your 
debts are paid; and you have not a penny with which 
to pay them. Suddenly a strange voice in the crowd 
shouts "Hold!" to the sheriff. At the same instant a 
man steps out of the throng with the words: "Stop this 
sale. I will satisfy this judgment. I will pay this man's 
debts." From a full purse he counts out gold-piece after 
gold-piece, till the sheriff says, "Enough." Snatch- 
ing from the officer the papers which are the evidences 
of the debt, he tears them in pieces, and, turning to 
you, exclaims: "You are free! This farm is yours 
again, without mortgage or incumbrance of any kind!" 
That man is your elder brother. He went away to a 
foreign land before you were born. He has just re- 
turned enormously rich. 

In a way somewhat like that, Jesus forgives your 
sins. You have, or did have, or would have if you had 
always done right, a heavenly inheritance, a glorious 
mansion of fadeless beauty, on the banks of the River 
of Life. But you have fallen in debt; you are over- 
whelmed in debt; you can never get out of debt. Your 
debts are the sins which you have all your life been 
committing against Infinite Justice. By reason of your 
sins your heavenly mansion has been mortgaged and 
sold; and, by and by, when you are evicted by death 
from "the earthly house of this tabernacle," you will 



Seven Great Words. 209 

be compelled to move out into "the blackness of dark- 
ness forever." While you stand shuddering at this 
awful prospect of eternal pauperism, Christ, your 
Elder Brother, comes and offers to pay your debts 
and redeem your forfeited inheritance. Such is the 
forgiveness which is offered in the gospel to every 
sinner. 

" Ye who have sold for naught 

Your heritage above, 
Shall have it back unbought, 

The gift of Jesus' love : 
The year of Jubilee is come! 
Return, ye ransomed sinners, home." 

A better illustration suggests itself. A man has 
committed the crime of high treason by bearing arms 
against the government of his country. He is seized 
in the very act of attempting the assassination of the 
head of the nation. After a fair trial he is found guilty, 
and is condemned to die. No power on earth can save 
him from the ignominious death of the halter. He 
must die because he has committed the highest crime 
known to the laws of any % nation. There is, however, 
one man who can save the miscreant's life. While he 
lies in prison, dreading the awful day when he is to 
swing off into eternity, his gracious sovereign, whose 
merciful and benign government he has sought to de- 
stroy, and whose life he conspired to take, signs his 
pardon, and sends an officer to swing open his prison- 
door. He goes out as free from the law as though 
he had always been loyal and good. 

You, my hearer, have committed the crime of high 
treason against the government of Heaven. Every 
sin you have ever committed was an act of disloyalty 
against the throne and person of God. You are an 

14 



210 The Wells of Salvation. 

insurrectionist, a rebel, a traitor. You deserve to 
die. The law says you shall. You are already con- 
demned. You are in prison awaiting your execution. 
The death of the body is the officer who will soon 
come to lead you out to suffer the unending pains 
of the second death. If, when your body dies, one sin 
stands against you in the book of the Divine mem- 
ory, your soul will be cast into hell. That you may 
escape hell and gain heaven, your sins must all be 
forgiven in this world. Christ, and Christ alone, has 
power to forgive sins. When he forgives, you are as 
innocent in the sight of Heaven as though you had 
never sinned. 

During the War of the Rebellion, a private in the 
Union army was court-martialed for sleeping at his 
post. He was convicted, sentenced to death, and the 
day fixed for his execution. The case reached the 
ears of President Lincoln, and he resolved to save 
him. He signed a pardon, and sent it to the camp. 
The day came. "Suppose," thought the President, 
"my pardon has not reached him." The telegraph 
was called into requisition; but no answer could be 
obtained. Ordering his carriage, he rode with all 
speed to the front, which was only ten miles away, 
and reached the place just as a file of soldiers were 
on the point of shooting the condemned one, standing 
blindfolded on the edge of his grave. That is pardon; 
that is forgiveness ; that is the way our blessed Savior 
steps in between us and the blazing guns of Divine 
justice, and saves us from the consequences of our 
sins. 

The next great word of the text is Cleanse — 
"cleanse from all unrighteousness." If, in saving us, 
Jesus Christ did nothing but to forgive us our sins, 



Seven Great Words. 211 

that would be no real salvation. If his power stopped 
with forgiveness, it would be better to leave us to 
perish in our sins, unforgiven. A salvation including 
forgiveness, but leaving out cleansing, would be a 
tantalization and a fraud. No glory would accrue 
to God and no benefit to man if Christ merely for- 
gave our sins, and left us sinners, to keep on sinning 
as before. 

What an act of folly it would be, on the part of 
the governor of the State of New York, to pardon all 
the thieves and forgers and burglars and blacklegs 
and murders in all our prisons, and turn them loose 
upon society without any change in their characters 
and dispositions! A governor who should do that 
would be the greatest criminal, or the greatest lunatic, 
in the State. Is God less just and wise than man? 
A pardoned murderer would be a murderer still. i A 
pardoned thief would be a thief. A pardoned rebel 
would be a rebel. A sinner, merely pardoned, would 
be as great a sinner as he was before, and vastly more 
dangerous to the government of God. 

These conclusions no rational mind can resist. And 
yet there are large bodies of Christians, so called, 
whose highest ideal of salvation is to have their sins 
forgiven from time to time, without experiencing any 
change of character, and keep on sinning as outrag- 
eously as before. That theory makes Christianity a 
vast system of licensed iniquity. It makes the Holy 
Trinity a board of excise commissioners, granting 
license to sin. It makes the difference between an or- 
dinary sinner and a Christian to be nothing more than 
the difference between a murderer in prison and a 
murderer running at large. 

That is Romanism. That is High-Churchism. 



212 The Wells of Salvation. 

That is the religion of form. It is not Methodism. 
It is not Christianity. According to our text, Jesus 
Christ is "faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and 
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." He never for- 
gives without cleansing. 

In the process of cleansing there are two distinct 
acts. They are regeneration and entire sanctification. 
Regeneration (or conversion, as we usually call it) is 
cleansing begun. Entire sanctification is cleansing 
completed. Forgiveness and regeneration always take 
place at the same moment. In nature and fact they are 
distinct and separate; in time they can not be sepa- 
rated. 

In regeneration our Almighty Savior recreates the 
soul in righteousness. He turns the currents of its 
thoughts and feelings and purposes, which were hell- 
ward, heavenward. He implants all the Christian 
graces. 

" He breaks the power of canceled sin, 
He sets the prisoner free." 

Regeneration is a radical and miraculous change 
of character. The regenerated man's heart is so revo- 
lutionized that he hates what before he loved, and 
loves what before he hated. The regenerated thief is 
an honest man. The regenerated liar is a truthful man. 
The regenerated murderer is a lamb-like man. The 
regenerated sinner is a holy man. 

But the work of cleansing is never completed in 
regeneration. The roots of sin remain in the regener- 
ated man. Sinful dispositions, appetites, feelings, and 
tendencies are still there. They are conquered and 
held down by the power of Divine grace; but they con- 
tinually struggle to regain the mastery which they 



Seven Great Words. 213 

once enjoyed. The old Adam, the carnal nature, the 
giant of inbred sin, still lives in the regenerated soul. 
The new man, the holy nature, has come in, caught the 
old man by the throat and cast him down, and is 
trampling him in the dust. But the old man refuses 
to give up the ghost ; he writhes and twists and strives 
to regain his feet. The result is an endless battle in 
the soul. The serpent of sin, coiled around the heart, 
is scotched and partially paralyzed; but is not killed 
and cast out. He wriggles and hisses and darts out 
his forked tongue, and tries to contract his broken 
spine. 

What Christian, who hears these words, has not 
felt the risings of sinful passions and desires since the 
hour of his spiritual birth? What Christian has not 
been conscious of a battle in his soul between regnant 
righteousness and struggling depravity? What Chris- 
tian has not heard the old serpent's hiss in the cham- 
bers -of his secret being* since he gave his heart to God? 

But must this war last forever? No. If our Al- 
mighty Christ is allowed to have his w*ay, he will come 
the second time and end the war. He will exterminate 
all sinful passions and lusts. He will kill the giant of 
inbred sin. He will cast out and destroy the serpent 
of evil. He will fill the soul with peace and love and 
purity and heaven. That is what Paul means when 
he writes to the Thessalonians : 'The very God of peace 
sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole 
spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto 
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." That is what 
John meant when he said: 'Tie is faithful and just to 
cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 

Can cleansing from all unrighteousness mean any- 
thing less than has just been described? Anger, pride, 



214 The Wells of Salvation. 

envy, jealousy, covetousness, impatience, and unbelief 
are unrighteousness. To cleanse is to wash out. If 
Christ washes out all these, can any trace of them 
remain? Can there be any anger, pride, envy, or any 
other sinful feeling in a heart which Christ has cleansed 
from all unrighteousness? Observe, to "forgive us 
our sins" is one thing; to "cleanse us from all un- 
righteousness" is quite another thing. Inbred, origi- 
nal, or birth sin, that corruption of nature which every 
man has inherited from Adam, is certainly unright- 
eousness. To cleanse is to make clean. If Christ 
makes us clean from inbred sin, is it not manifest that 
there can be no trace of inbred sin remaining? 

Imagine a garment stained through and through 
with a crimson dye. Imagine the same garment 
dragged through the mire, and spattered and splashed 
with offal and filth. That garment represents human 
character. It represents the soul of an unregenerated 
son of Adam's fallen race. The scarlet dye represents 
birth sin. The mud represents the guilt of actual sin. 

Christ takes up that garment, that character, that 
soul, and says: "I am faithful and just to forgive you 
your sins, and to cleanse you from all unrighteous- 
ness." Then he dips it into the fountain of his own 
blood, and takes it out with all the mud and filth 
washed away. Held up to the light, the blazing sun, 
shining through it, shows not the slightest speck of 
dirt. But the scarlet dye remains, though it looks 
faded and pale. That represents pardon and regener- 
ation. Pardon removes all the mud and filth of actual 
transgression; and regeneration breaks the dye of 
inbred sin. 

Again the mighty Savior plunges the garment, the 
soul, beneath the crimson wave, and lifts it out whiter 



Seven Great Words. 215 

than snow. That second dipping represents entire 
sanctification. Entire sanctification washes out all the 
remaining stains of inbred sin. This is what the peni- 
tent and pardoned king of Israel desired when he 
prayed, "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." 

Can any one fail to understand what cleansing 
from all unrighteousness is, or how it differs from 
pardon and regeneration? Take, as an example, the 
sin of anger. Here is a man who is known to all his 
acquaintances as a very passionate man. This sin 
was born in him. It seems to be ingrained in the very 
fiber of his soul. Under provocation he flies into a 
perfect fury, and, with flashing eyes and red-hot face, 
pours out words of gall and hate. He rages like a 
madman, and looks like one possessed with a devil. 
By and by he is convicted by the Holy Spirit, and re- 
pents of this and of all his sins. Through faith in 
Christ he obtains the blessings of pardon and regener- 
ation. Now he is as innocent of the sin of anger as 
though he had never had an angry feeling. The power 
of his passionate nature is also broken, so that he 
preserves his serenity in circumstances which before 
would have thrown him completely off his balance. 

But the old Adam is not dead. Under strong 
provocation he is conscious of a mighty flood of pas- 
sion rising up in his soul. He feels like venting his 
sense of injury in passionate looks and words and 
blows. But he does not. By the grace of God in his 
heart, he keeps down the rising tide; he smothers his 
wrathful feelings, and preserves a sweet and placid 
exterior. That is a great victory, greater than any 
of the victories of Alexander or Xapoleon or Grant. 
"He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; 
and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city." 



2i 6 The Wells of Salvation. 

But there is a greater victory still. After many 
struggles like this, some resulting in victory and some 
in defeat, the man, realizing his need of salvation 
from inbred sin, goes to God in the deepest humiliation 
and the fullest surrender, and cries from the depths of 
his soul: "Create in me a clean heart, O God." The 
Omnipotent One hears that prayer. He comes the 
second time. He throttles the old Adam, chokes him 
to death and casts him out. Now the believer is 
cleansed from all anger. Under the most tremendous 
provocation he not only does not manifest anger, but 
he does not feel anger. His mind is as calm as a 
summer sky; his whole soul goes out in pity and love 
toward the one who has done him wrong. He is 
cleansed from all unrighteousness, as well as from all 
anger, and is filled with the perfect love of God. 

All unrighteousness! Christ will cleanse you from 
all things which are not morally right. Pride and im- 
patience and selfishness and unbelief and covetousness 
are not right. They are unrighteousness. Christ will 
cleanse the proudest man, so that he will become re- 
markable for his humility; the most impatient man, 
so that he will become a model of calmness and sweet- 
ness; the most selfish man, so that he will excel in 
forgetfulness of self; the most skeptical, so that he 
will become a very hero of faith; the most stingy and 
penurious, so that he will pour out his money for the 
cause of God as a fountain pours out its waters; the 
most sinful, so that men and angels will wonder at his 
saintliness. 

The fifth great word of the text is Confess. Con- 
fession is the condition of forgiveness and cleansing. 
If, before the work of pardon and regeneration is 
wrought for and in us, we say that we have no sin to 



Seven Great Words. 217 

be forgiven and to be cleansed away, we deceive our- 
selves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess 
our sins, Christ is faithful and just to forgive us our 
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

Confession here implies renunciation, consecration, 
and faith. If we deny, or excuse, or palliate, or cling 
to our sins, the truth is not in us, and salvation is not 
for us. If we say, "I am guilty; I need forgiveness. 
I am vile; I need to be cleansed," and then, turning 
our back on sin, cast ourselves alone on the merits 
and mercy of Christ, his blood avails to remove all 
our guilt, or to neutralize all the infection of in- 
bred sin. 

The sixth and seventh great words of our text are 
Faithful and Just. Christ is faithful. He has prom- 
ised to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He will 
keep his word. He is the Truth; he can not lie. Is 
there a man or woman who dares to call Jesus Christ 
a liar? Can you conceive of a greater sin than that 
would be? If you say that you can not be cleansed 
from all unrighteousness, if you doubt whether you 
can be cleansed from all your anger and pride and 
impatience and selfishness and unbelief, and every 
form of inbred sin, you do, in effect, call Christ a liar. 
O God, save this congregation from such a dam- 
ning sin! 

Christ is just to cleanse us from all unrighteous- 
ness. By his death on the cross he satisfied the claims 
of the Divine law, and made it lawful to save the sinner. 
Justice has been so satisfied that it would be unjust in 
Christ not to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 
He must do it. He has put himself under obligation 
so to do. 

It is said that a student, who had completed the 



218 The Wells of Salvation. 

prescribed course in the Naval Academy at Annapolis, 
was being examined for graduation, and hydrostatics 
was the theme. The committee put this question: 
"Suppose your ship is in mid-ocean, and that your 
pump is in perfect order; you screw a hose, also in 
perfect order, to the pump, and throw the end of the 
hose over into the sea; then you work your pump, but 
get no water. What would you think was the matter?" 
'T should think that the pump was out of order," said 
the student. "No," said the committeeman, "the sup- 
position is that the pump and hose are in perfect order, 
and that all the connections are perfectly made. What 
would you do in that case?" "I should run to the 
edge of the deck, and look over the side of the ship 
and see if the ocean was not dry," was the young man's 
reply. 

If, confessing and forsaking all your sins, you come 
to God in the name of Christ, and sue for pardon, or 
perfect cleansing, and do not receive, you may be sure 
that the ocean of Divine love and power is dry; that 
God has ceased to be. As true as there is a God, who 
can not lie, you shall have your sins forgiven ; you shall 
be cleansed from all unrighteousness. 



XII. 

CHRISTIAN PERFECTION. 

" Not as though I had already attained, either were already 
perfect. . . . Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be 
thus minded." — Phii,. hi, 12 and 15. 

T N these two verses we seem to hear Paul contradict- 
* ing Paul. In the first sentence he says: "Not as 
though I were already perfect." In the second sen- 
tence he says: "Let us, as many as be perfect, be thus 
minded." In his first utterance he disclaims per- 
fection for himself. In the second, he claims member- 
ship among them who are perfect. He does the same 
as to say, almost in the same breath, "I am not perfect; 
I am perfect." How shall we make Paul agree with 
Paul? Surely there can be no real contradiction be- 
tween two statements of the same apostle, speaking 
under the influence of the Holy Ghost. It is not diffi- 
cult to harmonize these seemingly discordant sen- 
tences. Each is the truth in part. Together they are 
the whole truth on this important theme. Paul was 
both imperfect and perfect. In one sense of the term, 
he had perfection already; m another sense, he neither 
had it then, nor expected ever to have it in this life. 
Like Paul's experience, essentially, ought to be 
the experience of every disciple of Jesus Christ. There 
is a sense in which no Christian can be perfect. There 
is another sense in which every Christian may and 
ought to be perfect. The chief aim of this discourse 
will be to show what Scriptural perfection is not, and 
what it is. 

2I 9 



220 The Wells of Salvation. 

But let us first be sure that there is such a thing 
as perfection for mortals here in the flesh. To inform 
ourselves on this point, we will not go to the creeds, 
or the councils, or theologians, but to the Word of 
God. Opening the Book, we read: "Noah was a just 
man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked 
with God." "There was a man in the land of Uz, 
whose name was Job; that man was perfect and up- 
right, one that feared God, and eschewed evil." "Mark 
the perfect man and behold the upright: for the end 
of that man is peace." The author of the Epistle to 
the Hebrews thus exhorts those to whom the Divine 
Spirit moved him to write: "Now the God of peace, 
that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that 
great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of 
the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every 
good work to do his will, working in you that which 
is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ." 
St. James says: "Let patience have her perfect work, 
that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." 
To the Corinthians, Paul writes: "Having therefore 
these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves 
from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting 
holiness in the fear of God." To the Colossians he 
declares: "We preach Christ, warning every man, and 
teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may pre- 
sent every man perfect in Christ Jesus." To his spirit- 
ual son Timothy he states the great end of Divine 
revelation in these words: "All Scripture is given by 
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for 
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteous- 
ness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly 
furnished unto all good works." And the Great 
Preacher closes one of the heads of his sublime "Ser- 



Christian Perfection. 221 

mon on the Mount" with these words: "Be ye there- 
fore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is 
perfect." 

These are but a few of a multitude of similar pass- 
ages scattered through the Book of God. By them we 
are informed that there have been perfect men; we 
are urged to seek perfection for ourselves; we are told 
that the Holy Scriptures have been given to make us 
perfect; we are taught that the gospel ministry was 
established that every Christian might become perfect; 
and we are all commanded, by the great Head of the 
Church, to be perfect. 

Let no man say that there is no such thing as per- 
fection. On that point there can be no question. We 
can and must be perfect. The only question is, What 
is the nature of the perfection to which we can attain? 
Manifestly it is not absolute perfection. Such per- 
fection belongs to God alone. No man, no angel, 
ever had, or ever will have, absolute perfection. God 
is the only being in the universe who is absolutely 
perfect. In his character resides every possible excel- 
lence, in an infinite degree. He is so perfect that no 
one of his attributes can ever be increased. On the 
other hand, no human spirit in the heavenly state 
will ever be so perfect but that it will look forward 
to an unlimited growth in knowledge, holiness, and 
power. While God's holiness remains stationary, it 
will be eternally approached, but never equaled, by 
the perfection of the saints. 

Our perfection is not angelic perfection. Angels 
never were men. Men will never be angels. How- 
ever it may be in the world to come, in this life we 
shall never equal those spotless and refulgent beings 
who stand before the throne of God, or fly forth at his 



222 The Wells of Salvation. 

command to minister unto those who shall be heirs 
of salvation. While we would not exchange places 
with the angels, for they know nothing of the joys 
of redemption, yet we must confess ourselves their 
inferiors in the kind and degree of perfection to which 
we can attain in this lower world. 

Our perfection is not Adamic perfection. Adam 
in Eden had never sinned; his moral powers had not 
been weakened by vicious indulgences and depraved 
habits; his spiritual vision had not been clouded by 
the vapors which rise from corrupted affections; there 
were no scars of old transgressions on his conscience, 
no memories of former iniquities on his mind; he did 
not live among wicked men, nor in a sin-cursed world. 
Therefore he stood on a peak of perfection which we 
can not climb till mortality is swallowed up of life. It 
is evident that we, living in a world of sin, with bodies 
disfigured by disease, and minds deranged by centuries 
of ancestral ignorance, superstition, and vice, can not 
equal the perfection of that being whom God had just 
created in his own image and likeness. 

Instead of being absolute, angelic, or Adamic, our 
perfection must be finite, human, and Christian. It is 
finite — the perfection of creatures infinitely less than 
the Creator, who were made to grow through time 
and eternity. It is human — the perfection of immortal 
beings living in mortal bodies, subject to all the limi- 
tations and restrictions of this earthly probation. It 
is Christian — the perfection of sinful beings redeemed 
and saved by the blood of the Incarnate God. 

In talking about perfection, it will be well for us 
to understand what the word itself means. It has no 
reference to size, quantity, rank, or value, but only to 
completeness. If I tell you that a thing is perfect, I 



Christian Perfection. 223 

do not necessarily say anything about its size, whether 
it is large or small; about its rank, whether it is high 
or low; about its value, whether it is precious or worth- 
less. A thing is perfect which lacks nothing belong- 
ing to its nature or kind. A drop of dew, hanging 
on the point of a leaf in the forest, is as perfect as the 
ocean. It is not so large: you can not sail your ships 
upon it; you can not catch whales in it; and yet the 
dew-drop is as perfect as the ocean. A pebble may 
be as perfect as a diamond. It is not so beautiful; it 
is not so precious. You can not buy as many acres 
of land with a pocketful of pebbles as with a pocketful 
of diamonds; and yet the pebble is as perfect as the 
diamond. An infant, a few hours old, is as perfect 
a specimen of humanity as a full-grown man. He is 
not so large; he is not so strong; he can not think so 
great thoughts or perform so great deeds; he is not 
worth so much to society, or to God; but the babe 
is just as perfect as the man. Unfallen Adam was as 
perfect in his sphere as the angels in theirs, or God in 
his. He was not a perfect God or a perfect angel, but 
a perfect man. In this life we shall never be as per- 
fect as Adam, but we can all be Christians, and, by the 
grace of God, we can be perfect Christians. 

It is Christian perfection about which we speak. 
But let us come a little nearer to the subject, and ask: 
What is Christian perfection? What is it not? It is 
not perfection of knowledge. Neither in this life nor 
in the life to come shall we know all things. God alone 
is perfect in knowledge. All created intelligence will 
always have something to learn. Earth is a prepara- 
tory school; heaven will be a university in which the 
redeemed will pursue an endless course of study under 
the tuition of the angels and of God. There are ten 



224 The Wells of Salvation. 

thousand things which the most perfect Christian does 
not know, which God is teaching to him as fast as 
his feeble mind can grasp and retain. This is the way 
in which the perfect Christian grows. 

Christian perfection is not perfection of judgment. 
Perhaps angels and glorified human spirits have per- 
fect judgments; certainly no mortal man can have. 
The perfect Christian may have a most imperfect 
judgment, and so may make a hundred blunders and 
do a hundred unwise things in a single day. Sound- 
ness of judgment comes from experience and native 
mental force, not from a pious heart. 

Christian perfection is not perfection of reason, 
memory, or taste. A perfect Christian may have feeble 
reasoning powers, a weak memory, and the poorest 
taste. As a consequence, many of his opinions may 
be unsound, he may sometimes fail to meet all his 
engagements, and his dress and manners may not 
charm and attract. God may write him a perfect 
Christian, nevertheless. 

Christian perfection does not mean exemption from 
temptation. The holiest souls are tempted to sin. 
Our blessed Redeemer, who was absolutely sinless 
and spotlessly holy, was subjected to the most pro- 
longed and terrific assaults of Satan and his confed- 
erate fiends. One of his battles with the powers of 
hell lasted forty days. The devil did not desist from 
tempting the eternal Son of God till he had expired 
upon the cross. Jesus was "tempted in all points like 
as we are, yet without sin." The more like Jesus we 
become, the more the Prince of Darkness will try to 
harass and destroy. If he lets any mortal alone, it is 
the iron-bound slave of sin or the Church member 



Christian Perfection. 225 

who is content with the form of godliness without its 
power. 

Christian perfection is not impeccability. The per- 
fect Christian is not the man who can not sin. No man 
on this side the grave will ever reach a point in holi- 
ness so high that he can not fall. The holiest soul 
will plunge into sin in a second if his faith lets go its 
grip on Christ. Adam and Eve, before the fall, had a 
degree and kind of perfection which will never be 
ours on this side the flood; yet they yielded to temp- 
tation, and sunk into sin and shame in a single hour. 
From the highest peak of the snow-clad mountains 
of holiness to the bottom of the black valley of con- 
demnation and guilt is but a single step. To the per- 
fect Christian the Divine warning comes: "Let him 
that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fail!" 

Christian perfection is not perfection of tempera- 
ment. By temperament we mean "the peculiar phys- 
ical and mental character of an individual, arising from 
the relations and proportions between the constituent 
parts of the body." We recognize four pure tempera- 
ments — the sanguine, bilious, nervous, and lymphatic, 
and any number of mixtures of these. Which pure 
temperament, or what mixture of temperaments, the 
ideal man would have depends entirely upon what our 
ideal is. But of this we are sure, no possible measure 
of Divine grace in the heart will ever change a man's 
temperament. Though it will modify, restrain, im- 
prove, and stimulate, religion will leave every indi- 
vidual's temperament essentially the same as at the 
beginning. The sinner of a sanguine temperament 
will become the most hopeful and enthusiastic, but not 
the most steadfast, of the saints. The sinner of a 

15 



226 The Wells of Salvation. 

bilious temperament will become the most vigorous 
and determined, but not the most hopeful. The sinner 
whose temperament is nervous, when converted and 
advanced to the higher walks of religious experience, 
will surpass his brethren in the calmness of his faith 
and the sweetness of his temper, but not in boldness 
and decision. The lymphatic sinner, when trans- 
formed into a saint, will excel in coolness and patience, 
but not in energy and enthusiasm. It would be folly 
to suppose that any degree of religious uplifting would 
make the lymphatic man sanguine, or the bilious nerv- 
ous. When John gets the blessing of Christian per- 
fection, he will be John still; Peter will be Peter; 
Thomas will be Thomas. But John will be more 
courageous; Peter will be more steadfast; Thomas 
will be more hopeful. Yet if John and Peter and 
Thomas and the others slide back into sin, all their 
old defects and deficiencies will reappear in their origi- 
nal sharpness and ugliness, because Divine grace 
never has changed, and never can change, a man's 
temperament. 

What, then, is Christian perfection? It is perfect 
purity and sincerity of intention. This is one of John 
Wesley's definitions. He says: "In one view, Chris- 
tian perfection is purity of intention, dedicating all the 
life to God." The perfect Christian is one whose heart 
has been so thoroughly transformed by the power of 
the Holy Ghost that it is his most earnest desire and 
his sincerest intention to do and be exactly right in 
everything and at every time. However much he 
may fall below the standard of absolute legal perfec- 
tion, his intention is to come short in nothing. He 
would rather die than commit the smallest sin. 

Christian perfection is the complete subjection of 



Christian Perfection. 227 

the human will to the will of God. The natural man 
is a rebel against Heaven, because he will be. His re- 
bellion is in his will. He will not do the will of God. 
The perfect Christian is the same man after his will has 
made an absolute and unconditional surrender to the 
will of God, and God has accepted the surrender. The 
perfect Christian has no will but to do the will of God. 
"Thy will, O God, be done," is the constant language 
of his heart. He has sunk down into the will of God, 
and found it inexpressibly sweet. There he lies as con- 
tented and restful and careless as a weary laborer on 
a bed of down, or a little babe on its mother's bosom. 
God can give him no command, however painful to 
the flesh, but his whole soul joyfully exclaims, "I de- 
light to do thy will, O my God!" He is willing that 
God should do anything with him, for he has the 
blissful assurance that he can do nothing that will 
not be perfectly wise and good. The old theologians 
used to say that a man was not fit to go to heaven 
till he was willing, for God's glory, to go to hell. We 
do not accept that. But the perfect Christian would 
not object to going to hell, if that were God's will; 
for it could not be otherwise than that God would go 
with him, and his smiles of love would make the lowest 
hell like the highest heaven. Inasmuch as to be a 
sinner is to have the will opposed to God, to be a 
perfect Christian is to have the will in perfect sub- 
jection to the will of Heaven. John Fletcher says: 
"Christian perfection extends chiefly to the will, which 
is the capital moral power of the soul, leaving the 
understanding ignorant of ten thousand things, and 
the body dead because of sin." 

Christian perfection means perfect salvation from 
sin. Our blessed Redeemer was named Jesus before 



228 The Wells of Salvation. 

his birth, because he was coming "to save his people 
from their sins." He did not shed his blood merely 
to save us from the hell into which sin would have 
plunged us, or from the guilt and power of sin, but 
from sin itself. Salvation from hell would be a great 
salvation. Salvation from the guilt of sin would be 
greater. Salvation from the power of sin would be 
greater still. Salvation from sin is the greatest of all; 
it is perfect salvation. It is Christian perfection: it is 
what the Bible holds out to every soul, and commands 
every one to seek. 

How strangely men have erred at this very point! 
One expects to be saved from hell while covered all 
over with the guilt of sin. Another, who is the slave 
of sin, and sins every day, expects to get to heaven 
by having his sins forgiven from time to time. A 
third, who has experienced pardon for the past, and 
in whom the power of sin has been broken, but who 
does every day what he knows to be wrong, calls that 
salvation, and dreams of heaven. That is not the sal- 
vation of the gospel. Gospel salvation is salvation 
from sin. Gospel perfection is salvation from all sin. 

Salvation from sin includes two particulars: One 
is salvation from the commission of outward acts of 
sin; the other is salvation from sinful tempers and 
tendencies — from inbred sin. Some tell us that such 
a salvation is impossible. They would have us be- 
lieve that the highest state of grace attainable in this 
life is that in which the Christian wages a perpetual 
warfare with a host of rampant lusts in his own heart, 
and is beaten and dragged into sinful acts and words 
every day. They think they see the great master- 
piece of Christ's saving power in the seventh chapter 
ol Romans, painted in words like these: "I am carnal, 



Christian Perfection. 229 

sold under sin. For that which I do, I allow not: for 
what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that I do. 
O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from 
the body of this death!" They would have the child 
of God forever sitting on the stool of repentance, 
beating his breast, and moaning out the publican's 
prayer, u God be merciful to me, a sinner." When 
they bear witness to the power of our glorious gospel, 
in the congregation of the Lord, they use such words 
as these: "I am a poor sinner. If God should treat 
me as I deserve, he would hurl me into hell this minute. 
Not a day passes over my head but I break his holy 
commandments, and sin against him in thought, word, 
and deed. But I hope to persevere in this way and 
get to heaven at last." 

Is this that glorious salvation which was heralded 
by a long line of holy prophets, which was introduced 
by the music of angel choirs, which required the stu- 
pendous miracle of the incarnation, and which cost 
the unspeakable agonies of Gethsemane and Calvary? 
Is this all God can do for a ransomed soul, through 
the blood of his Son and the power of his Omnipotent 
Spirit? Did the dying Christ cry, "It is finished," 
that the sinner might get no farther than to cry, "O 
wretched man that I am?" 

Away with such a thought! The Bible, from Gen- 
esis to Revelation, is against such degraded views of 
the power of the gospel. To his ancient Church, God 
said: "Be ye holy: for I the Lord your God am holy." 
Through one of his old prophets he made this promise 
to all his people: "Then will I sprinkle clean water 
upon you, and ye shall be clean : from all your filthiness 
and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new 
heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put 



230 The Wells of Salvation. 

within you; and I will take away the stony heart out 
of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. 
And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you 
to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judg- 
ments, and do them." Zacharias, the father of John 
the Baptist, at the naming of his son, being filled with 
the Holy Ghost, uttered these words: "Blessed be the 
Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed 
his people, ... to remember the oath which he sware 
unto our father Abraham, that he would grant unto 
us, that we, being delivered out of the hand of our 
enemies [that means spiritual enemies] might serve 
him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before 
him, all the days of our life." Saint John says: "Ye 
know that he [Christ] was manifested to take away our 
sins. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whoso- 
ever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 
Little children, let not man deceive you; he that doeth 
righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 
He that committeth sin is of the devil For this pur- 
pose was the Son of God manifested, that he might 
destroy the works of the devil." Again he says: "He 
that hath this hope in him [that is, the hope of heav- 
enly glory] purifieth himself even as he [God] is pure." 
Once more he says: "If we walk in the light, as he is 
in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and 
the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all 
sin." 'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just 
to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all un- 
righteousness." To the Thessalonians, Paul writes: 
"This is the will of God, even your sanctification." 
In the same letter he utters this wonderful prayer: 
"The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I 
pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be pre- 



Christian Perfection. 231 

served blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus 
Christ." Then he adds, ''Faithful he is that calleth 
you, who also will do it." 

If we hold that it is impossible for any man to live 
without committing sin, we must accept two other 
conclusions: first, God is an infinite tyrant; for he 
commands us, on pain of eternal death, to do what he 
knows we can not do; and, second, the devil is more 
than a match for Christ, for the former will not permit 
the latter wholly to save his people from their sins, 
although he came to earth and gave up his life for 
that very purpose. We can not accept either of these 
absurd conclusions. We believe that God is able and 
willing to give us so much of the power of his Spirit 
that we can live all our days without coming under 
the condemnation of sin. No Christian ever was in 
the seventh chapter of Romans. That is the foul 
prison-house of condemned and guilty rebels; not 
the mansion of the sons of God. Every Christian is 
invited to make the eighth chapter his permanent 
home, and, standing under its great central dome, in 
the full light of the Sun of righteousness, ever more ex- 
claim: 'There is now no condemnation to me who am 
in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after 
the Spirit!" 

All the texts which we have been quoting, and 
scores of others like them, promise more than salvation 
from the commission of actual, outward sin ; they 
promise a deliverance from that in which sinful words 
and acts have their birth — inbred sin. Let me repeat 
two passages: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful 
and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from 
all unrighteousness." "And I pray God your whole 
spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto 



232 The Wells of Salvation. 

the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." When the 
child of God has been cleansed from all unrighteous- 
ness, and wholly sanctified throughout spirit, soul, 
and body, it is manifest that there can be no remains 
of pride, or anger, or selfishness, or covetousness, or 
unbelief, or any other evil passion or desire in the 
heart. Christian perfection therefore means the utter 
extermination of all these roots of bitterness, so that 
the sanctified soul feels no more uprising of sin, but 
only good desires and holy longings and heavenward 
aspirations. Having no desire or inclination to sin, 
his life is free from both inward and outward sin, being 
''kept by the power of God through faith unto salva- 
tion." 

"But," says some objector, "does the perfect Chris- 
tian never do or say anything which God can not ap- 
prove, and which is not absolutely good and right?" 
That we have not asserted. The perfect Christian has 
many infirmities of body and mind, and makes many 
mistakes through the imperfection of his knowledge 
and the weakness of his judgment and memory. But 
infirmities and mistakes are not sins. The failure to 
recognize the distinction between infirmities and sins 
"is the cause of much of the perplexity which exists 
in the minds of many good people in regard to the 
doctrine of Christian perfection. Some make no dis- 
tinction, except in degree, between falling asleep in 
church and forging a note ; both "are sins, according to 
their definition. Paul knew the difference. He says, 
"I glory in mine infirmities." Did he glory in his 
sins? "The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities." Does 
the Holy Spirit help our sins? 

A sin is a voluntary transgression of a known law. 
An infirmity is an involuntary deviation from a per- 



Christian Perfection. 233 

feet standard imperfectly understood. Sins always 
spring from a bad heart. Infirmities have their ground 
in a disordered physical and intellectual nature. Sins 
always produce guilt and condemnation. Infirmities, 
when discovered, cause humiliation and regret. Sin 
is perfectly curable in this life. Infirmities must be 
endured till "mortality is swallowed up of life." 

This was the opinion of John Wesley. He says: 
"Not only sin properly so called — that is, a voluntary 
transgression of a known law — but sin improperly so 
called — that is, an involuntary transgression of a 
Divine law, known or unknown — needs the atoning 
blood. I believe there is no such perfection in this 
life as excludes these involuntary transgressions, which 
I apprehend to be naturally consequent on the igno- 
rances and mistakes inseparable from mortality. 
Therefore, sinless perfection is a phrase I never use, 
lest I should seem to contradict myself." Because 
this is true, it is right and proper that the holiest souls 
should daily pray, "Forgive us our debts, as we for- 
give our debtors." 

There is a form of speech used by St. Paul which 
proclaims the Christian's privilege in the most un- 
mistakable terms. It is, "Dead to sin." In the sixth 
chapter of Romans he says: "Shall we continue in sin 
that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall 
we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? . . . 
For he that is dead is freed from sin. . . . Likewise 
reckon ye yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but 
alive unto God through" Jesus Christ our Lord." To 
"reckon" is a mathematical operation. This is the 
most blessed branch of mathematical science that man 
ever studied. "Reckon yourselves to be dead unto 
sin." This is "pure mathematics." 



234 The Wells of Salvation. 

I think you all have some understanding of what it 
would be to be dead to sin. Take the expression, 
''Dead to music." Here is a young lady who has 
given many years to the study and practice of music. 
She has graduated from the best musical conservatory 
in the world. She is a skillful performer upon the 
piano and many other instruments. She sings with 
a highly cultivated voice. She reads all the leading 
musical journals. Calling at her home, you ask her to 
favor you with a piece of music on the piano. She 
looks solemnly into your face, and answers, "I am 
dead to music now." You would understand those 
words to mean that she has nothing more to do with 
the study or practice of music ; she does not play, she 
does not sing, she does not read upon that subject, 
she has nothing more to do with music in any way. 
"Dead to music." You know what that means. 

God says, "Dead to sin." To be dead to sin is to 
have nothing more to do with sin than the inhabitants 
of yonder cemetery have to do with the life which 
rushes along the street past the graveyard gate. If 
sin be regarded as an act, to be dead to sin is not to do 
that act. If sin be regarded as a state of the heart, out 
of which sinful acts proceed, to be dead to sin is not 
to be in that state. "The old man is crucified with 
Christ, that the body of sin might be destroyed." 

If I hold a stone above the earth, and then let it 
go, it falls to the ground, drawn down by the unre- 
sisted power of gravitation. That represents the un- 
regenerate sinner; all his tendencies are downward 
into sin and hell. If I give the stone an upward im- 
pulsion, it flies away from the earth up toward the sun. 
Yet the earth pulls hard upon it, and the force which 
would draw it down is almost as strong as that which 



Christian Perfection. 235 

urges it along its upward course. It goes up indeed; 
but against a mighty downward attraction which the 
globe exerts upon its every atom. That represents the 
imperfect Christian — the soul which has been regen- 
erated, but not entirely sanctified. If now I could im- 
part sufficient momentum to the stone to carry it be- 
yond a certain point, the earth would lose all its power 
to attract, and, gravitation having turned the other 
way, it would fly on toward the sun with ever increas- 
ing speed and power. That would represent the per- 
fect Christian. He has reached a point where gravi- 
tation turns the other way. Sin being cast out of his 
heart, the world has no power to attract. All his 
tendencies are toward God and heaven, and loftier 
heights of purity and power. He tabernacles for a 
time in a gross and mortal body, and is beset by mani- 
fold temptations and infirmities; but his soul is so 
completely delivered from the love of sin, and from 
its power and inward presence, that if he should be in- 
stantly translated into a world of perfect light and 
knowledge, he would appear before God "without 
spot or wrinkle or any such thing," able to render a 
more perfect service than Adam in Eden. 

Lastly — only to be named for lack of time — Chris- 
tian perfection is perfect love. Love is the fulfillment 
of the law. Love is the bond of perfectness. To love 
God with all the heart is all that he can require, and 
nothing less can he accept. Wesley says: "Scripture 
perfection is pure love filling the heart, and govern- 
ing all the words and actions." If this wall of the 
Church were a blackboard, and with a crayon I should 
write upon it words telling all the duties which you 
owe to yourself, to your fellows, and to God, cover- 
ing all the board but a narrow band at the right, 



236 The Wells of Salvatiox. 

I might make a brace and the sign of equality, and 
write after it the little word "Love," and that one word 
would mean as much as all that I had written. Nay, 
were the canopy of heaven a blackboard, and had I 
an archangel's pinions and a pen dipped in living 
light, I could cover it with words telling what you 
ought to do to please God and keep his law, and then 
the one little word "Love" would equal all I had 
written. If any man says that Christian perfection 
is anything more, or anything less, than perfect love, 
he errs. 

Christian perfection is the gift of God, promised 
to all who hunger and thirst after righteousness. It 
is to be had now by all regenerated persons, in a mo- 
ment of time, by simple faith. 

Some one objects: "If I am made perfect, how can 
I grow; and I am commanded to grow in grace?" 
You entirely mistake the meaning of the words. Per- 
fection is not the end of growth, but rather its begin- 
ning. Does the farmer who has ninety and nine per- 
fect lambs, and one wretched, little, scrawny creature, 
mourn because the ninety and nine can not grow, and 
wish that they had been born imperfect like the one? 
Does the orchard-man dote on the imperfect apples 
hanging on his trees, and wish all were imperfect that 
they might grow? No; in grace, as all through na- 
ture, perfection is the beginning and chief condition 
of rapid and substantial growth. If you will let God 
perfect you in love, you will grow in grace, the coming 
quarter, more than you have grown in the years since 
your conversion. 

What you call perfection is maturity. We reach 
maturity by a gradual growth. We are made perfect 
in love in a moment, that we may grow up into the 



Christian Perfection. 237 

maturity of all the Christian graces. The perfect 
apple grows up into all the maturity and ripeness of 
which its nature is capable. 

Let us seek Christian perfection that we may 
grow up into Christ in all things. When the weeds 
of sin have all been expelled from our hearts, there 
will be nothing to hinder the growth of the Christian 
virtues. 



XIII. 

ENTIRE SANCTIEICATION. 

"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I 
pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved 
blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faith- 
ful is he that calleth you, who also will do it." — i Thessa- 
LOnians, v, 23, 24. 

THE first declaration which this text makes to our 
* understanding is this: "There is such a thing as 
entire sanctification." Sanctification is a great word. 
Some persons have stumbled over it, and fallen into 
confusion and doubt. Some have tried to utter it, 
and it has stuck fast in their throats. To others it 
has seemed like a lofty and impassable mountain, and 
they have gone around its base. But the fact stands 
out clearly before our mental vision that there is 
such a state as sanctification — entire sanctification; 
and that it is for man. If you should say, "No, there 
is no such a thing," it would still be. If the Church 
universal should forget it, and blot it from her prayers 
and creeds, it would still be. If the ministry should 
conspire to obscure and hide it in all their pulpit min- 
istrations and private instructions, it would still be. 
If, on an exhaustive examination, it should be found 
that not one man or woman in all the world ever 
had any experimental knowledge of such a state, and 
that all who have ever professed it were hypocrites 
or fools, it would nevertheless be. If the very angels 
who throng around the dazzling throne of Infinite 
Wisdom and Power, should come down to earth and 
preach the doctrine of no sanctification, it would be 
238 



Entire Sanctification. 239 

after all. It would be, because it is here in God's 
Word — that Word which is above philosophy, above 
creeds, above Churches, above ministers, above hu- 
man experience, above angels, above cherubim and 
seraphim, above everything on earth and in heaven. 
There is such a state as sanctification — entire sancti- 
fication. That sanctification is for man; for Paul 
prayed that men might have it; and he, an inspired 
apostle, would not have prayed for that which could 
not be. 

Before we take another step forward in this dis- 
cussion, we must ask, "What is sanctification?" A 
sufficiently full and accurate definition, for the present, 
is that which our Catechism gives: ''Sanctification 
is that act of Divine grace whereby we are made holy." 
Entire sanctification, then, is that act of Divine grace 
whereby we are made entirely holy; or it is that state 
of grace in which we are entirely holy. 

All Christian thinkers agree that entire sanctifica- 
tion — perfect holiness — is absolutely essential as a con- 
dition of admission to heaven. Presbyterians, Congre- 
gationalists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Baptists, Dis- 
ciples, Unitarians, Quakers, Roman Cathofics, and 
Methodists perfectly agree, and stoutly maintain, that 
no soul can ever enter the New Jerusalem till it has 
been sanctified wholly, and made every whit clean. 
There is absolutely no difference in the creeds of 
Christendom in this regard. Every religious teacher 
that ever lived, whatever his denominational brand, 
could he speak to you on this subject, would say: 
"Somewhere, between the present and the threshold 
of the palace of God, you must experience the blessing 
of entire sanctification. Without that kind and de- 
gree of holiness no man can see the Lord." 



240 The Wells of Salvation. 

If you ask, "When may I expect to experience 
entire sanctification?" you will receive four distinct 
answers. There are four theories concerning the 
time when the soul may be made whiter than snow. 
The Church of Rome places the time after death. 
Rome teaches that there have been a very few souls, 
of a peculiar fineness, who have attained perfect holi- 
ness in this life, and have gone through the gate of 
death directly into paradise. But the great mass, in- 
cluding an immense majority of her popes, cardinals, 
bishops, priests, monks, and nuns, must tarry in pur- 
gatory a longer or shorter period of time, and there 
experience perfect cleansing through the action of 
fire or some other tormenting agent. To her votaries, 
who long to be saved from all sin, Rome says: "Wait 
till you are dead, and then the flames of purgatory 
will burn out the stains of sin and the roots of car- 
nality, so that you can enter into the presence of God." 
There is no need that I should argue against this 
old heathen dogma in the presence of a congregation 
of Protestants. 

The second theory places entire sanctification in 
the very article of death. Almost all theologians of 
the Calvinistic school tell us that, so fierce are the 
temptations that beset us in this life, and so deep have 
the roots of depravity struck themselves into the very 
core of our being, and so strong is the devil, Christ 
can not cleanse us from all our sins till, standing on 
the threshold of this clay tenement, we are in the very- 
act of spreading the wings of our souls for a flight 
into the eternal world. They tell us that we must 
fight against the old Adam within us as long as we 
live in the flesh, and not look for deliverance till death 
comes to kill our foe. The arrow which drinks our 



Entire Sanctification. 241 

heart's blood will, at the same time, slay the serpent 
of evil coiled about the soul. These teachers do not 
put entire sanctification just before death, or just after 
death, but in death itself. I will not now undertake to 
show the falsity of this theory. I will merely remark, 
in passing, that it seems to make death our savior, 
instead of Jesus Christ. 

The third theory is at the other extreme. It locates 
entire sanctification in the act of pardon and regener- 
ation. The supporters of this doctrine, commonly 
called "Zinzendorfism," tell us that God never does 
anything at the halves; that when he, for Christ's sake, 
forgives a man his sins, and gives him a new heart, 
he, at the same instant, cleanses him from all sin, 
utterly exterminates the old Adam — the carnal mind — 
and perfects the soul in love. One tremendous objec- 
tion to this theory is the experience of all truly regen- 
erate persons. We all know that the old nature did 
not die in us at our conversion, for we have felt its 
motions in our souls a hundred times since that day. 

Only one possible theory remains. It is the 
theory of Methodism. It is the theory of Paul. It 
is the theory of the Bible as a whole. It is the truth 
of God. It says to the believer: "You were not wholly 
sanctified at your conversion. You need not wait to 
be wholly sanctified in the article of death. You may 
have that great blessing at any time between regener- 
ation and death. You may be wholly sanctified now. 
Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." 

Why do we believe that entire sanctification is a 
definite work of grace, subsequent to conversion and 
distinct therefrom? Because Paul, in the text, writes 
to Christians — to converted persons — and says: "The 
very God of peace sanctify you wholly." If regener- 

16 



242 The Wells of Salvation. 

ation and entire sanctification took place at the same 
time, it would be the height of folly and stupidity thus 
to pray. 

Does any one doubt that Paul was praying for the 
entire sanctification of regenerate persons? Hear how 
he begins this First Epistle to the Thessalonians: 
"Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus, unto the Church 
of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord 
Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace from God 
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give 
thanks to God always for you all, making mention 
of you in our prayers; remembering without ceasing 
your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of 
hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God 
and our Father; knowing, brethren beloved, your elec- 
tion of God. For our gospel came not unto you in 
word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, 
and in much assurance. And ye became followers of 
us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much 
affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: so that ye were 
ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. 
For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not 
only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place 
your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we 
need not to speak anything." Further on he writes: 
"For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, 
because, when ye received the word of God which ye 
heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, 
but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effect- 
ually worketh also in you that believe." Again he 
says: "What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoic- 
ing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord 
Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory 



Entire Sanctification. 243 

and joy." Finally he writes: ''Ye are all the children 
of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.'' 

What shall we say of these persons? They belong 
to the true Church — the Church which is in God the 
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. They are dis- 
tinguished for their works of faith and labors of love. 
They are the elect. They are followers of the apostles 
and of Christ, and examples of Christian living to 
other Churches. They have joy in the Holy Ghost. 
They are Paul's hope and joy and glory and crown. 
And, lastly, they are all children of the light. Surely 
they are genuine Christians. They are converted men 
and women. There is no room for the shadow of a 
doubt in regard to this matter. To apply such terms 
to unconverted sinners would be the most reckless 
abuse of language — such an abuse as would stamp the 
user with the brand of imposture, if he should claim 
the gift of inspiration. We know that Paul is address- 
ing those who have been soundly and thoroughly con- 
verted, and who are eminent for their piety and devo- 
tion. They are not those who once enjoyed the smiles 
of Heaven, but have grown cold and have backslidden 
from God. They are living, ardent, growing Chris- 
tians. They are walking in the light. To them, and 
to all who are like them, Paul says, lifting his heart 
to Heaven in earnest prayer: "The very God of peace 
sanctify you wholly ; and I pray God your whole spirit 
and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the 
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he who 
calleth you, who also will do it." 

Therefore regeneration and entire sanctification 
are distinct in fact and in time. The Thessalonians 
were not entirely sanctified at their conversion. No 



244 The Wells of Salvation. 

person gets it all at once. For every one who is born 
again there is a second blessing — a higher, a deeper, 
a richer blessing — a distinct work of grace, wrought 
in the soul by the power of Almighty God. 

How do we know that it is not God's will that we 
should wait for entire sanctification till the hour and 
article of death? We know absolutely from the text. 
If there were nothing else on the subject between the 
lids of the Bible, this would be enough: "I pray God 
your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved 
blameless unto [or, as the Greek has it, at] the coming 
of our Lord Jesus Christ." He prays that the whole 
spirit and soul and body of all those Thessalonians 
be made blameless, or wholly sanctified, now, and 
then be kept in that state, by the same Divine power, 
till death or the end of the world. He does not pray 
that his young converts at Thessalonica may be en- 
tirely sanctified just as their souls are about to quit 
this clay tabernacle; but that the very God of peace 
will sanctify them wholly now, and their whole spirit 
and soul and body may be preserved blameless through 
all the years of toil and conflict that may lie between 
the present moment and the end. 

Evidently Paul was a Wesleyan in his theology, 
and not a Zinzendorfian or a Calvinist. Had he been 
a Zinzendorfian, he would have written: "I thank God 
that ye were entirely sanctified at the hour of your 
conversion, and I pray that ye may be preserved in 
that blameless state into which ye then entered." Had 
he been a Calvinist, he would have said: "I pray God 
that ye may have grace to fight against your carnal 
natures till death, and that then your whole spirit and 
soul and body be made blameless at the coming of our 
Lord Jesus Christ." 



Entire Sanctification. 245 

It is a waste of words to labor to prove that the 
Pauline theology does not locate entire sanctification 
in regeneration, or in death. It is as evident as a 
lightning flash in midnight blackness that the greatest 
of the apostles held that believers are not entirely 
sanctified at conversion; but that they may be at any 
time after that change, and as soon after as their wills 
and faith will co-operate with the Divine will. 

It remains for us to inquire more particularly what 
entire sanctification is, and how it may be attained. 
The words sanctify, sanctified, and sanctification are 
used in our English Bible about one hundred and 
thirty times. The first and literal meanings are to 
make holy — that is, morally pure, free from sin — 
made holy, and holiness. They also have a secondary, 
or figurative meaning. When applied to things, to 
time, and to official personages, to sanctify means to 
set apart; to be sanctified means to be thus set apart; 
and sanctification means the act or state of being 
set apart. For example, to sanctify a golden dish in 
the ancient tabernacle or temple was to set it apart 
to be used only in religious services, perhaps to re- 
ceive and hold the blood of the sacrificial lamb.. To 
sanctify a building is to set it apart, by solemn cere- 
monies, to be a place of religious worship. To sanctify 
a portion of time, as the first day of the week, is to 
set it apart to be spent in religious exercises. To 
sanctify a minister or priest is to set him apart by 
ordination or anointing, that he may abstain from all 
worldly business and devote himself wholly to the 
work of God. In this figurative sense, we call the 
silver vessels which we use on the sacramental table 
sanctified or holy vessels; we call this church a sanc- 
tified or holy house ; we call the minister who preaches 



246 The Wells of Salvation. 

to us and gives us the communion bread and wine 
a holy man; we call this day, on which we assemble 
to sing and pray and preach, a sanctified or holy day. 
Jesus once applied the term sanctify to himself, in 
this accommodated sense, when he said: "For their 
sakes" — that is, for the sake of his disciples — "I sanc- 
tify myself, that they also may be sanctified through 
the truth." He meant that he set himself apart to 
be a sacrifice for sin, as the lamb was set apart 
anciently to be sacrificed on the altar of God at Jeru- 
salem. 

But whenever in the Bible the words sanctify, 
sanctified, and sanctification are applied to human 
beings, apart from any official station to which they 
may have been called, they always mean to make 
holy, or morally pure, made holy, and the state of being 
holy. When God talks about sanctifying you, he 
means to make you personally holy. When you have 
been sanctified, you will be holy. When you have 
been sanctified wholly, you will be entirely holy. And 
that dreadful word sanctification, which frightens so 
many when they hear it, and which strangles so many 
when they try to speak it, means "holiness, without 
which no man shall see the Lord." "The very God 
of peace sanctify you wholly," means " The very God 
of peace make you, in your personal character" — in 
your inward and outward life — "entirely holy." 

The word "blameless" in the second clause of the 
text, helps us to understand what Paul means by 
"make you entirely holy." He seems to think that 
a sinful being, saved and made entirely holy, is blame- 
less; not faultless, but blameless. Blameless means 
perfectly pure in motive and desire, and filled with 



Entire Sanctification. 247 

love, though defective in knowledge, judgment, and 
memory. 

The school-teacher writes a beautiful copy for the 
six-year-old boy, and tells him to reproduce it as 
exactly as he can. Full of the spirit of love and obe- 
dience and industry, he sets himself to his task, and 
slowly and carefully traces the loops and curves. 
When it is finished, he holds it up, with shining face 
and ink-smeared fingers, for the teacher's inspection 
and praise. Of itself, it is a most wretched piece of 
work; it is very far from being faultless. But the 
teacher says, ''Well done!" because she knows that 
love has done its best. The boy is blameless — not 
faultless. If he practices twenty years, his penman- 
ship may become relatively faultless; but it will never 
be more blameless that it is to-day. 

Entire sanctification is that state of inward purity 
into which the believer comes, through the blood of 
Christ and by the power of the Holy Ghost, where 
all his works, being wrought in love, though not fault- 
lessly wrought, are blameless in the sight of God. 

What does the entire sanctification of spirit, soul, 
and body mean? Man is a trinity. He is spirit, soul, 
and body. The spirit is the immortal part of man. It 
is what we commonly call soul. It is the real man. 
It is that which will exist ages after the body has 
turned to dust. The spirit is intellect, will, and emo- 
tions. If you solve a problem in mathematics, or 
commit a poem to memory, it is your spirit which 
works out the problem, or grasps and retains the 
poem. If you resolve on any course of action, it is 
your spirit which resolves. If you love a friend, or 
hate an enemy, or feel gratitude, anger, or revenge, 



248 The Wells of Salvation. 

it is your spirit which loves, or hates, or is grateful, 
angry, or revengeful. 

The entire sanctification, or perfect purification, 
of the spirit means perfect honesty and purity of 
thought; perfect harmony between the human will 
and the Divine will; and the extermination of all im- 
pure passions, affections, and desires. When your 
whole spirit has been sanctified, you will utterly loathe 
and repel all impure and untruthful suggestions; your 
will will be the will of your God; you will love God 
with all your heart; you will love all men — even your 
enemies — as you love yourself; and all envy, jealousy, 
anger, impatience, covetousness, selfishness, bitter- 
ness, and unbelief will be gone, branch and root. To 
the wholly sanctified, truth is dearer than life. To 
the wholly sanctified, the sweetest thing in all the 
universe is the will of God. To the wholly sanctified, 
the old Adam — the carnal nature — is crucified and 
dead. 

The soul, in the text, is the lower, animal soul, con- 
taining the passions and desires which we have in 
common with the brutes. But in the true man it is 
ennobled and drawn up by the spirit. In the unspirit- 
ual, the unconverted man, the spirit is crushed down 
and subordinated to the animal soul. The soul is the 
seat of all the bodily appetites, passions, and instincts — 
such as the desire for food, the love of the sexes, the 
dread of death, and many others which your thoughts 
will suggest, but which I will not name. 

The entire sanctification of the soul means the 
perfect purification and perfect government of all the 
natural, bodily appetites. The wholly-sanctified man 
enjoys his food; but he is not a glutton. He takes 
pleasure in the society of the other half of humanity; 



Entire Sanctification. 249 

but he is not licentious in act or desire. He delights 
in beautiful pictures, landscapes, furniture, and music; 
but his affections are not set on such things as these. 
He loves life; but he is not afraid to die. He walks 
the earth like a beast; but his conversation is in 
heaven. His feet are on the ground; but his head is 
above the clouds. 

The animal passions of the unconverted, sensual 
man are like a span of wild horses running away with 
the driver, who has lost all control, and dashing swiftly 
toward the verge of an awful precipice. The animal 
passions of the wholly-sanctified man are like the same 
horses completely tamed and perfectly controlled. Not 
one of them is killed or hamstrung; but they are 
brought into subjection to the law of love, and Christ 
sits in the chariot and directs their movements. The 
only truly temperate man is the wholly sanctified; he 
is temperate in all things. 

We all know what Paul means by the body. The 
body is this mass of matter in which we live, and 
which will soon crumble into dust, with all its mem- 
bers and organs. Of itself it is neither good nor bad; 
it can neither do righteousness nor commit sin. But 
the indwelling human spirit can use it as an instru- 
ment of unrighteousness or holiness. 

By the entire sanctification of the body, as dis- 
tinguished from the spirit and soul, I understand the 
complete deliverance of the body from all unnatural 
appetites and habits. A wholly-sanctified body can 
not, at the same time, be a slave to alcohol, opium, 
or tobacco. Our Sanctifier, the Holy Ghost, can 
eradicate all artificial appetites. When a drunkard 
experiences pardon and regeneration, he gets the vic- 
tory over his appetite, and is a drunkard no longer. 



250 The Wells of Salvation. 

But his appetite remains, like a chained lion, often 
roaring and trying to tear himself loose. When the 
man experiences entire sanctification, the lion is killed. 
Now he has no craving for that which intoxicates; but 
loathes the vile stuff as much as he loved it once. All 
through our communities you can find men who tes- 
tify that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses them from 
the sin of drunkenness and from the appetite for strong 
drink. 

Tobacco is not so cruel a tyrant as the intoxicating 
cup. Nicotine does not work such ruin and misery 
and death and damnation as alcohol. But he is an 
unclean monster, from whose foul clutches the man 
of God ought to be free. There are good men who 
smoke and chew tobacco; but they would be much 
better men if they did not. Who can doubt that it is 
God's will that his dear children shall be free from 
such an unnatural and uncomely habit? Who doubts 
that Paul's injunction, "Let us cleanse ourselves from 
all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness 
in the fear of God," refers, in part, to tobacco? Paul 
did not know anything about the poisonous Indian 
weed; but the Spirit of inspiration, which was in him, 
did. If the use of tobacco is not a filthiness of the 
flesh, what is? You can not perfect holiness if you 
defile your body, which belongs to God, and waste 
your money, which is his, by the use of tobacco. 

Your body is, or ought to be, the temple of the 
Holy Ghost. You are bound to keep that temple in 
as clean and healthful a condition as you can, that 
the indwelling Spirit of God may use it to the utmost 
for his glory and for the good of humanity. Surely a 
body which is steeped in nicotine, and which reeks with 
stenchful vapors, is not wholly sanctified. Men, once 



Entire Sanctification. 251 

the bond-slaves of tobacco, stand up all through the 
Church to testify that the sanctifying grace of God 
has, in a moment of time, cleansed them from all de- 
sire for the weed, and made the smoke of pipe or cigar 
seem almost as hateful as the smoke of the bottom- 
less pit. 

Vastly more seductive, deadly, and enslaving than 
tobacco or alcohol is opium. And yet many instances 
are on record of persons, long bound by that dreadful 
habit, who, by the sanctifying power of the Holy 
Ghost, have been made perfectly free in a moment. 

But I will not enlarge. I must, however, insist 
that the entire sanctification of the body, for which 
Paul prays, includes perfect deliverance from all un- 
natural appetites and habits. It seems to be a self- 
evident proposition that a body which craves opium, 
tobacco, or alcohol is not yet wholly sanctified. 

"Faithful is he that calleth you" to this entire 
sanctification of spirit, soul, and body, "who also will 
do it." Do you not hear the voice of God calling you 
to this higher plane of Christian living; calling you to 
leave the valley and climb to the mountain-top; call- 
ing you to abandon the basement of the Palace Beau- 
tiful, and to mount to the cupola, where, through the 
telescope of perfect faith, you may see the gates of the 
Celestial City? 

It is God that calls you unto entire sanctification, 
and it is God "who will also do it." God will sanctify 
you wholly. He only can. You can not, of yourself, 
improve your own spiritual condition in the slightest 
degree. You can not reach the elevation to which 
you aspire by self-mortification, by culture, or by 
growth in grace. But God can reach down, and, lay- 
ing hold on you by the strong arm of his omnipotence, 



252 The Wells of Salvation. 

lift you out of your doubts and fears and besetments, 
up into the full liberty which is in Jesus Christ. 

It is faith that moves the arm of God. We all 
profess to hold the doctrine of salvation by faith. Yet 
we sometimes act as though we believed in salvation 
by works. How many have tried to get entire sancti- 
fication by works! Let me give you a single illustra- 
tion. Some years since, while serving the Church in 
the capacity of a teacher, I had under my tuition a 
Christian young man of marked ability and tried in- 
tegrity, who, for some terms, had held the first or 
second place in his class. But at length I noticed 
a change. He fell behind. His recitations were al- 
most invariably poor. He took his place almost at 
the foot. For several weeks nothing was said. But 
one day, when we were together alone, I bluntly asked 
him what was the matter — why he was lagging behind 
his classmates. His answer was this: "When I used 
to stand at the head of my class, when I made brilliant 
recitations and surpassed my fellows, I found myself 
giving way to sinful pride. I was proud of my 
superiority, or I was strongly tempted to be. I tried 
to keep the wicked feeling down. I did not want to 
be proud. I resolved that I would not be proud. 
I struggled against myself with all my might. But 
it was all irr vain. Pride was there. Sometimes 
I kept it down; but more frequently it got the 
upper-hand before I was aware. I therefore came to 
the conclusion that I would take away the food on 
which my pride fed itself. I resolved that I would 
make poor recitations on purpose, and so, by mortify- 
ing, kill my pride." I replied: "My dear fellow, what- 
ever mental capacity you have is the gift of God. He 
intends that you shall make the most of all you pos- 






Entire Sanctificatlon. 253 

sess. In thus burying your talents, you are wronging 
your Maker and yourself. Besides, you will certainly 
fail in your purpose. You can never kill your pride 
by self-mortification. Instead of starving to death, 
it will thrive and grow. There is but one way to get 
rid of this root of bitterness which troubles you so 
much. God can take it out of the soil of your heart 
in a moment ; and he will, in answer to earnest, believ- 
ing prayer." 

God can sanctify you throughout body, soul, and 
spirit. There is no question as to his ability. Neither 
is there any question as to his willingness. He will 
do it. He has promised to do it : not if you will mortify 
your flesh; not if you will perform certain good 
works; not if you will strive to grow in grace — but 
if you will believe. Faith! faith! faith! is the Chris- 
tian's watchword. 

When the miller has a grist in his hopper, and 
his customer stands waiting to see it ground, he does 
not go down below and turn the machinery with his 
hands. Neither does he dip up water from the mill- 
pond, and pour it upon the paddles of the great wheel. 
He does not purpose to furnish the power from his 
own muscles. He steps to the corner there, where 
you see that pole protruding through a hole in the 
floor, and, with both his hands, he pushes it down till 
it is almost out of sight. Almost instantly the stones 
begin to turn; and soon the wheat is flour. You are 
not expected — for you are utterly unable — to furnish 
the power necessary to wholly sanctify your spirit, 
soul, and body. But back there, in the hollow of 
God's hand, is an inexhaustible reservoir. You are 
merely required to raise the gate of faith, and, in an 
instant, a flood of Divine love and power will deluge 



254 The Wells of Salvation. 

your soul with heavenly glory, sweeping away all the 
remains of the carnal mind, and filling you "with all 
the fullness of God." 

Renounce the world. Cast its empty trifles behind 
your back. Consecrate your all to God. Lay your- 
self upon his altar. Then wait there, with your eyes 
turned toward heaven, expecting every moment that 
the fire will come down and consume your sacrifice. 

Is there a Christian here who fears entire sancti- 
fication? Will it harm any one to be wholly saved 
from sin? Is it a blot on God's character that he is 
entirely holy? Will holiness lessen your happiness 
or detract from your manhood? Rather, is not holi- 
ness the most beautiful object on which our thoughts 
can rest? Is not the thought that we may be entirely 
sanctified in this life enough to entrance our minds 
and fill us with righteous impatience to have God 
come this moment and cut short the blessed work? 
Let us draw as near the Infinite as we may, and hide 
ourselves forever in the radiance which flashes from 
his dazzling throne. 



XIV. 

DAVID'S DOUBLE PRAYER. 

"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, 
and I shall be whiter than snow." — Psai,m ti, 7. 

Y\ 7ITHOUT any reasonable doubt David wrote the 
fifty-first Psalm. It was written at about the 
middle of his reign of forty years. It was written after 
his terrible sin and fall. This discourse will be an 
attempt to expound the entire Psalm. 

There is hardly anything in the Bible more sad 
than this chapter in David's life. David was a true 
servant of God. He was converted in his childhood. 
God was with him when he was a shepherd boy, giving 
him inspiration to sing; and strength and skill to kill 
the wild beasts which would have destroyed his flocks ; 
and faith and power to vanquish the giant of Gath. 
He was called of God to be king of Israel, and was 
inspired to write many Psalms, which have been the 
comfort of millions now in heaven, and of millions still 
on the way. He was also a prophet, and foretold the 
coming of his greater Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. God 
declared that he was "a man after his own heart." And 
yet he yielded to temptation, and committed two 
dreadful sins. After his repentance and restoration, 
he wrote this Psalm, expressing the feelings, desires, 
and purposes of his heart during the time he was 
threading the dark gorge of repentance. 

How could a man like David experience such a 

2 55 



256 The Wells of Salvation. 

fearful fall? I can see three reasons. The first is, that 
he left off working for God; he settled down into a 
state of inaction ; he made up his mind to take life easy 
for the remnant of his days. Hitherto, when there 
was any fighting to be done for God, he led his army 
to battle, and fought at the front, where the fire was 
the hottest and the arrows flew the thickest. But now 
he sends forth his men to the war under the command 
of Joab, and stays at home to rest and have a pleasant 
time. That was the beginning of his backsliding. 
Many begin to backslide, in these days, from the same 
cause. Whenever I hear a man well advanced in 
years say, ''Let some one else bear the heavy burdens 
now ; I have done my share ; I will not be an officer of 
the Church any longer; I am going to take life a 
little easier," I tremble for him. Though he does not 
intend it, he is taking his first step toward the back- 
slider's doom. My brother, you must not lay off your 
armor, you must not cease working for God and the 
Church with all your might as long as a spark of life 
remains in your heart, or a throb of intelligence in 
your brain. If you would make sure of heaven, gird 
on the whole armor, push your way to the very front, 
and fight for God with all your might till you are shot 
dead in your tracks. The people of God went out to 
battle; "but David tarried still at Jerusalem." No 
wonder he fell into the snare of the devil! 

The second reason why David backslid is, that he 
left off minding his own business, and went to mind- 
ing his neighbor's business. Walking upon the flat 
roof of his house, he looked down into the door-yard 
of Uriah, to see what was being done there. That 
moment the devil shot an arrow of temptation into his 
heart, and he fell. If you mind your neighbor's busi- 



David's Double Prayer. 257 

ness instead of your own, you may expect to fall as 
David fell. 

The third and chief cause of David's fall was, that 
he had a traitor in the camp. I mean that the old 
Adam, the carnal nature, the body of sin, with which 
David was born into the world, had not been cast out 
of his heart. And so, when Satan bombarded the cita- 
del of his soul with the cannon-balls of fierce tempta- 
tion, the traitor within threw open the gate, and let 
the enemy enter. In other words, though David had 
experienced justification and regeneration, he had not 
been cleansed from all sin; lie had not been entirely 
sanctified. Therefore, when the temptation assailed 
him from without, the evil nature within responded 
to the battle-shout, joined in the fight, and David 
became Satan's captive and slave. 

I think I hear some one say, "Is it impossible for 
one who has been entirely sanctified to fall into sin?" 
No, by no means; but the liability to sin is vastly less, 
just as a fort, every member of whose garrison is loyal 
to the flag, is much less likely to be captured by the 
foe than a fort which has traitors disguised among its 
defenders. When you have been cleansed from all 
sin, you will still have to watch and fight and pray 
against temptation; but your enemies will all be in 
front and on the outside, not behind and within. 

David seems to have gone on in sin for about a 
year without any compunction of conscience. He 
might have gone blindly down to eternal death, and 
doubtless would, but for the fact that there was a 
faithful, fearless preacher in the city, a man who 
feared nothing but sin. His name was Nathan. God 
told him to reprove the king. Nathan was ready to 
do his duty. Instead of attacking him in the temple 

17 



258 The Wells of Salvatlon. 

on the Sabbath, in the presence of the whole congre- 
gation, as some modern preachers do, he took a wiser 
and braver course; he went right to the palace, and 
talked directly to the king when no one else was 
present. Is it not a mean and cowardly thing for a 
preacher to lash a whole congregation, because one 
man sitting before him has been guilty of a particular 
sin? Brother minister, do not do that. Be brave, 
like Nathan. On Saturday or Monday, go to the 
sinner's home, take him alone, plainly but kindly tell 
him his fault, and exhort him to repent. You may 
save his soul. But if you attack him in public, you 
will arouse his antagonism, and drive him further 
into sin. 

Well, Nathan went to see David. He knew that 
he took his life in his hands. The king was an abso- 
lute despot, and if he became angry and struck off 
the saucy preacher's head, there was no one to ask 
him why. That made no difference with Nathan; he 
loved righteousness more than he loved life. And 
yet he was not a fanatic. As he went along toward 
the palace, he said to himself: "How can I most 
wisely present the truth to the king, so that his con- 
science will be on my side? How can I combine the 
serpent's wisdom with the harmlessness of the dove?" 
The Holy Spirit was his teacher, and gave him a text 
for his sermon. The preacher began by telling the 
king a story: "There was a very poor man, who had 
one pet lamb. He had a neighbor who was rich in 
flocks and herds. Wishing to set some nice spring 
lamb before a visitor, the rich man went and stole 
the poor man's pet." The preacher told the story 
with such dramatic power that the king was greatly 
moved. All his love of righteousness was aroused, 



David's Double Prayer. 259 

and he interrupted the preacher by crying out, "The 
man that hath done this shall surely die." "Well," 
said Nathan, "you are the man." Conviction went to 
the heart of the king like a whole quiverful of arrows. 
He bowed his head. He said, "I have sinned." He 
humbled himself before God, and was forgiven. After 
his restoration to the Divine favor, he wrote this 
Psalm. 

He prays for two things: Forgiveness and perfect 
cleansing, for justification and entire sanctification. 
He prays for restoration to the favor of God, and for 
the rooting out of his old carnal nature, so that he 
will not be likely again to lose the smiles of heaven. 

Six times in this Psalm David prays for justifica- 
tion and for entire sanctification. The first double 
prayer is contained in the first and second verses. 
"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lov- 
ingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy ten- 
der mercies blot out my transgressions" is the first 
prayer for forgiveness. "Wash me throughly from 
mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin," is the first 
prayer for perfect cleansing. 

Notice the ground on which David hopes for par- 
don: "According to thy lovingkindness, according 
unto the multitude of thy tender mercies." He does 
not say, "Blot out my transgressions, because I am 
not so very bad, after all; or because I sinned under 
strong temptation; or because I killed old Goliath; 
or because I brought the ark to Jerusalem; or be- 
cause I have written a great many beautiful Psalms; 
or because I am no worse than many other men." The 
only reason why David hoped for mercy, was that it 
was God's nature to forgive. He could not find any- 
thing in himself — in his past, or his present, or his 



260 The Wells of Salvation, 

future — on account of which he could ask God to 
forgive him. David's humiliation was so deep, and 
his repentance so thorough, that he had not the slight- 
est inclination to excuse or palliate his sin. 

'Like that is all true repentance. The man whom 
God forgives is the one who says, "I have sinned," 
and does not add any "buts." The only reason why 
the true penitent hopes to be forgiven is, because God 
is a being of "lovingkindness" and "tender mercies." 
My friend, if you have the slightest disposition to 
excuse your sins, you are not in such a state of heart 
that God can forgive you. 

But David realized that he needed something be- 
sides forgiveness. So he went on to pray for entire 
sanctification — "Wash me throughly from mine in- 
iquity, and cleanse me from my sin." Notice the word 
"throughly;" that is a good old English word, which in 
some of our Bibles has been changed to "thoroughly." 
I like throughly better; it means through and through. 
David said: "Wash me through and through from 
mine iniquity." The Hebrew is, "multiply to wash." 
Wash out all the stains of sin; wash out all the sin 
itself; wash out all the passion and lust; wash out all 
the remains of sin; wash out all my carnality, and 
make me clean through and through. What is such 
cleansing as that, if not entire sanctification? It is 
what Paul had in mind when he prayed for the Thessa- 
lonians, "The very God of peace sanctify you wholly." 

In verses 3 to 8, David, the second time, prays 
for forgiveness and perfect cleansing. Notice what 
he says: "For I acknowledge my transgressions: and 
my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, 
have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight; that thou 
mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear 



David's Double Prayer. 261 

when thou judgest." That is an honest, whole- 
hearted, and complete confession of actual sin. We 
can not find in David any disposition to cover up or 
extenuate his guilt. He makes a clean breast of all 
his villainy. "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, 
and done this evil in thy sight." David fully grasped 
the truth that sin is sin, not because it injures the 
sinner, but because it is opposed to the will of God. 
There are some would-be philosophers who tell us that 
an act is sinful, when it is found to be injurious to our- 
selves or to others. David did not believe that lie. 
If he had been asked to define sin, he would have 
said: "Sin is any action which is contrary to the law 
of God." David had reached that point in his re- 
pentance where he loathed his sins, simply and solely 
because they were injurious and hateful to God. The 
thought of the wrong he had done to the Heavenly 
King so filled his mind, that the injury to Bathsheba 
and Uriah seemed, by comparison, to be nothing. Till 
a man is sorry for his sins only because they are in- 
jurious and hateful to God he is not truly penitent, 
and he can not be forgiven. 

No man was ever hung for murder who was not 
sorry that he committed the deed. But many a mur- 
derer has died on the scaffold unrepentant. He is 
sorry for his crime, because it has brought disgrace 
and death to him, not because it has insulted and dis- 
honored God. No one can thus repent, unless God 
gives him repentance. Many of our converts are not 
genuinely converted, because God never gave them 
repentance. Do you say that is Calvinism? Let me 
add this remark: "God always gives repentance to all 
who try to repent, and persist in trying." 

In verses 5 to 8 David expresses his need of entire 



262 The Wells of Salvation. 

cleansing, after being justified, and prays that he may 
be entirely cleansed. "Behold, I was shapen in in- 
iquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." In 
those terrific words the inspired psalmist sets forth 
the hideous doctrine of human depravity. Every one 
of us may truthfully utter the same words. I can trace 
my descent back through eight generations of godly, 
devoted ancestors; and yet I was shapen in iniquity, 
and in sin did my mother conceive me. If I could 
trace my family line back to Abraham, or Noah, or 
Adam, and find a holy man at every link, still it would 
be true: "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in 
sin did my mother conceive me." Those words are 
true of every human being ever born, except our Lord 
and Savior Jesus Christ. We were all born with a 
twist, a bent, a leaning towards sin. It is easy for us 
to do wrong; it is hard for us to do right. The poison- 
ous weeds of sin spring up spontaneously in every 
human heart; the flowers and fruits of righteousness 
must be sown and cultured with the utmost care. Evil 
is ingrained in us. No human skill, no effort of the 
will, no culture of the schools, no polish of polite 
society, no growth in years or in virtue, can ever 
get it out. You may saw and plane and polish a piece 
of bird's-eye maple, but you can never straighten out 
the peculiar grain of the wood. All your rubbing and 
polishing and oiling and varnishing will only make 
the grain more visible and distinct. So it is with the 
ingrained sinfulness of our depraved and wicked 
hearts. We were dyed-in-the-wool in sin. Before the 
wool was woven, before it was spun, before it was 
carded, or clipped from the back of the sheep, it was 
dyed through and through with the blackness of sin. 



David's Double Prayer. 263 

The dye is so deep that no human skill can ever bleach 
it out. 

Take a watch-spring. Uncoil it. Stretch, it out 
on this floor. Pile a ton's weight on each end, and 
another ton on the middle. Go off and leave it. Come 
back at the end of a thousand years. If the watch- 
spring has been kept perfectly dry since you went 
away, when you take off the weights — whir-r-r-r-r! — 
the watch-spring is coiled as tightly as it was at the 
beginning. No amount of pressure, no matter how 
long continued, will ever take the coil out of that 
spring. In every one of us there is such a twist as 
that toward sin. Nothing but the almighty power of 
God can take the twist out of our hearts. It must be 
taken out before we enter heaven. 

David knew that the twist of depravity was in him. 
He knew that there was a spring coiled up in his soul, 
which set in motion all the wheels of appetite, passion, 
and lust. He knew that the sins of adultery and mur- 
der had their origin in that infernal spring. He had 
come to believe that God desired "truth in the inward 
parts," and that he was able to make him "know wis- 
dom in the hidden part." And so he prays: "Purge 
me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I 
shall be whiter than snow." 

The hyssop was a plant like our broom-corn. 
When the priest used to go into the tabernacle, he 
would carry a basin of blood in his left hand and a 
bunch of hyssop in his right, sprinkling as he went. 
That sprinkled blood was a type of the blood of Christ, 
which was to be shed and sprinkled in the after ages. 
David seems to have caught a prophetic glimpse of 
the Savior of the world, and his prayer really means: 



264 The Wells of Salvation. 

"Sprinkle me with the blood of thy incarnate Son, 
and I shall be clean from all my depravity." Then he 
adds, "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." 

Is there anything whiter than snow? Yes, snow 
is not perfectly white. It is said that snow, taken from 
the summit of Mont Blanc, two miles and a quarter 
above the level of the sea, and melted, reveals particles 
of soot, carried, perhaps, by the winds of heaven from 
the chimneys of Leeds and Manchester. Snow is not 
perfectly clean. David prayed that God would wash 
away all his depravity, and make him perfectly clean — 
whiter than snow. He had carried the bent and twist 
and bird's-eye grain and sevenfold dye of sin for fifty 
years; he did not believe that it was necessary to carry 
it any longer. And so he prayed: "Purge me with 
hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be 
whiter than snow." 

"Make me to have joy and gladness; that the bones 
which thou hast broken may rejoice." In the cruel, 
old days they had an instrument of torture and death 
called "the wheel." They would bind the condemned 
to it, in some way, and then make the wheel revolve 
till every bone in the man's body was cracked and 
broken and splintered. Under the convicting power 
of the Holy Spirit, David felt like that. God had put 
him on the wheel, and God's hand had turned the 
crank till he had not a whole bone left. That repre- 
sents the state of perfect repentance and absolute de- 
spair of self, which must precede the reception of the 
blessing of entire cleansing. Before God can wash 
you and make you whiter than snow, you must lie at 
his feet, with every bone broken, like a mass of quiver- 
ing jelly. Then Infinite Love can heal you, and set 
you on your feet, and make the bones which he has 



David's Double Prayer. 265 

broken rejoice. One reason why many seekers after 
full salvation do not find it is, that their bones are 
not all broken; their self-sufficiency is not entirely sub- 
dued; they do not "hunger and thirst after righteous- 
ness." 

In verses 9 and 10, David, the third time, prays 
for forgiveness and perfect cleansing — for justification 
and entire sanctification. This is very plain: "Hide 
thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities." 
What is that but a plea for the forgiveness of actual 
transgressions of the Divine law? It is that, and noth- 
ing more. But when he says, "Create in me a clean 
heart, and renew a right spirit within me," he is pray- 
ing for something entirely different from, and far be- 
yond justification. It is strange that any one can 
confound two things so totally unlike; and yet many 
do. Justification removes the guilt of actual sin. En- 
tire sanctification, for which the royal suppliant prays 
in the tenth verse, takes away the body of sin, out of 
which actual sins are born — the hellish brood of an 
infernal dam. Justification kills the cubs. Entire 
sanctification kills the she-wolf, which brought forth 
the cubs, and suckles them. 

"Create in me a clean heart." Those words tell us 
that entire sanctification is God's act. It comes not 
by growth in grace. We have no part in it, except 
to put ourselves where he can lay his Omnipotent hand 
upon us, and create us clean. If ever you have a heart 
one hundred per cent pure, it will not be when you 
have grown in grace so many years, or have suffered 
so many self-crucifixions, or have fought so many 
battles with self, or have offered so many prayers, or 
have uttered so many groans; it will be when the In- 
finite Creator of the universe speaks, "Be clean," and 



266 The Wells of Salvation. 

it is done. If God is to create in you a clean heart, 
why not now? why not this moment? 

In the eleventh verse David makes his double 
prayer the fourth time. "Cast me not away from thy 
presence," is a prayer, in the indirect form, for the 
forgiveness of his actual sins. The only thing on ac- 
count of which God casts man away from his pres- 
ence is sin knowingly committed. When those sins 
have been forgiven, God no longer casts the man away 
from his presence, but takes him into his favor and 
family. 

"Take not thy Holy Spirit 1 ' from me, is the Oriental 
way of saying, "Give me thy Holy Spirit." David thus 
prays for what the New Testament calls "the bap- 
tism of the Holy Ghost." He prays for that which 
the disciples of Jesus received on the day of Pente- 
cost — that to which Peter alluded when he spoke con- 
cerning Cornelius and his military family, at the Coun- 
cil of Jerusalem: "God bare them witness, giving them 
the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; and put no 
difference between us and them, purifying their hearts 
by faith.'" To receive the Holy Ghost (or, as David 
phrases it, not to have the Holy Spirit taken away), 
and to have the heart purified by faith, are one and the 
same experience. 

David prays his double prayer the fifth time, in 
the twelfth verse: "Restore unto me the joy of thy 
salvation, and uphold me by thy free Spirit." David 
lost the joy of God's salvation by the commission of 
willful sins. To have the lost joy restored is the same 
as to have those sins forgiven. "Uphold me by thy 
free Spirit," is a prayer for perfect cleansing. The 
Holy Ghost is called the "free" Spirit, because he 
makes those whose hearts he fills free from inbred sin. 



David* s Double Prayer. 267 

To be upheld by the free Spirit is to "have access by 
faith into this grace wherein we stand" of which Paul 
speaks in the fifth chapter of Romans. David knew 
that he had fallen into sin through the depravity of his 
nature; and, in praying to be upheld, or kept from 
falling into sin again, by the free Spirit, he really 
prayed that the free Spirit would set him free from 
depravity, or cleanse him from all inbred sin. That is 
what Paul and Wesley call ''entire sanctification." 

In the thirteenth verse David pauses from his sup- 
plication to tell what will be the result of his receiving 
the blessing of perfect cleansing: "Then will I teach 
transgressors thy ways ; and sinners shall be converted 
unto thee." That statement is everlastingly true. The 
entire sanctification of one believer always means the 
conversion of man}' sinners. That is one reason why 
we preach the doctrine of entire sanctification so con- 
stantly and explicitly. Because we desire the conver- 
sion of sinners, Ave labor for the sanctification of be- 
lievers. Jesus and the twelve labored as evangelists 
three years, and only five hundred persons professed 
conversions. Of these, only one hundred and twenty 
could be found when a meeting was called to organize 
a Church. That was before the disciples had received 
the blessing of entire sanctification. But at Pentecost 
the blessing was experienced — they were filled with the 
Holy Ghost — and, as a result, three thousand sinners 
were converted in a single day. If every member of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church would pray David's 
prayer, and experience the blessing described by him 
in the words, "uphold me by thy free Spirit," I believe 
our membership would be doubled in a single year, 
and the whole world evangelized in a single gener- 
ation. 



268 The Wells of Salvation. 

Notice the expression, "sinners shall be converted 
unto thee." Many of our converts are converted unto 
us, because we are not fit instruments for God's use 
on account of the depravity remaining in our hearts. 
God can not do thorough work with badly-tempered 
tools. A believer in whom any carnality remains, is 
an imperfectly-tempered tool. 

In verses 14 and 15 David offers his sixth double 
prayer; for the sixth time he prays for forgiveness 
and a clean heart: "Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, 
O God, thou God of my salvation." There is agony 
in that prayer. He was intensely in earnest. There 
was innocent blood on his soul, the blood of his loyal 
subject and brave officer, Uriah, whom he had foully 
murdered. He was in a condition somewhat like that 
of Macbeth with his hands dripping with Duncan's 
blood ; only the Jew was penitent, and the Scotchman 
was not. A more heart-rending cry for pardon could 
not well be imagined. If God will only forgive his 
monstrous crimes his "tongue shall sing aloud" of 
God's "righteousness" — that is, of the justification 
which God has mercifully bestowed. 

"O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall 
show forth thy praise," is a prayer for a clean heart. 
David wanted the tongue of fire, which God gave the 
disciples on the day of Pentecost, when he filled them 
with the Spirit of holiness. We can not open our own 
lips, so that our mouth shall really show forth the 
praise of God. On the evening of the arrest in the 
garden, Peter opened his lips, and his mouth said, 
"Though I should die with thee, yet will I not for- 
sake thee." A few hours after, he opened his lips, and 
swore that he knew not Jesus. That was before the 
man had experienced the blessing of entire sanctifi- 



David's Double Prayer. 269 

cation — the old Adam was in him, and had gotten the 
upper hand. But fifty-three days later he received 
the baptism of the Holy Ghost; and then the indwell- 
ing God opened his lips, and so showed forth His 
praise through his mouth that three thousand souls 
were convicted and converted in the space of a few 
minutes. When, and only when, you are filled with 
the Spirit, God can open your lips and speak through 
your mouth to the praise of his holy name. It is as 
clear as sunlight that "open thou my lips" is not a 
prayer for the first blessing, justification; but for the 
second blessing, a clean heart — the baptism of the 
Holy Ghost. 

Have we not discovered the key to this wonderful 
psalm? Can you not see that it is a double prayer, 
uttered six times, in as many different forms, for the 
blessings of pardon and perfect cleansing? Could 
not the teaching of the whole psalm be condensed into 
one sentence (1 John i, 9): "If we confess our sins, 
he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to 
cleanse us from all unrighteousness?" 

The sixteenth and seventeenth verses teach us how 
we may obtain the blessings of pardon and perfect 
cleansing: "Thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I 
give it; thou delightest not in burnt offerings. The 
sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and 
contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." Forms 
and ceremonies, gifts of money and labor of the hands, 
works of righteousness and acts of self-denial, deeds 
of charity and tortures of the body, can not bring par- 
don or purity. But God gives them to all who thor- 
oughly repent and cast themselves, broken in pieces, 
at his feet. "A broken spirit, a broken and contrite 
heart," means perfect repentance; and also perfect dis- 



270 The Wells of Salvation. 

trust of self, or, what is the same thing, perfect faith 
in God. 

Verse eighteen is a prayer for the prosperity of the 
Church. While the Psalmist king was in a back- 
slidden state, religion languished; the pious hung their 
heads in sadness and shame; and unbelievers scoffed 
and exulted. But now that the wanderer has returned, 
and the penitent seeker is made "whiter than snow," 
it will be the "good pleasure" of God to "build again" 
the walls of the spiritual Jerusalem. When all, or 
most, of the members of any Church experience the 
blessing of "a clean heart," a mighty revival will sweep 
through the surrounding community, and a multitude 
of living stones will be built into her walls. 

"Thou shalt then be pleased with the sacrifices of 
righteousness, with burnt offerings, and whole burnt 
offerings: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine 
altar." When the Church is holy, and teaches holiness, 
God is pleased with her ritual, her gifts, and her labors. 
Our church edifices, our preaching, our singing, our 
anniversaries, our Sunday-schools, our Leagues, our 
Conferences, our Conventions, our collections, our 
enterprises, are pleasing to God, provided holiness is 
the aim and the result. 



; .1; :. 1 



XV. 
PETER IN PRISON. 

"And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I 
know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath 
delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the 
expectation of the people of the Jews." — ACTS xn, n. 

Y\ /HERE are we? What city is this? It seems to 
* " be an ancient town? Is it in America, Europe, 
or Asia? I can answer your questions. We are in 
Asia. We are in Palestine. We are in Jerusalem, 
the city of David and Solomon, the city where our 
Lord was crucified. The centuries have rolled back- 
ward. This is the year 44. It is only eleven years 
since that infinite sacrifice was made on Calvary. 

Shall we look about and see the city? Where 
shall we go? What wonders shall we explore? Shall 
we visit the temple which King Herod built of marble 
and gold, working forty and six years? Or shall we 
examine the three towers, built by the same king, one 
hundred and fifty, one hundred and eighty, and one 
hundred and twenty feet high, and named, respectively, 
Hippicus, Phasaelus, and Mariamne, in honor of his 
friend, his son, and his wife? Or shall we wander 
through the royal palace, with its miles of walls and 
porticoes and gilded chambers inclosing acres of gar- 
dens and groves and parks? 

No, I shall not take you to see any of these won- 
ders. Instead, I shall take you to a prison. Here it 
is now. Did you ever see such walls before? They 

271 



272 The Wells of Salvation. 

are at least twenty feet thick. Some of these stones 
are thirty feet long. Herod the Great piled them up 
to hold his enemies whom he had in his power. Woe 
be to the man who finds himself within such barriers, 
for he can never get out ! 

We are standing directly in front of the prison 
gate. It is a huge iron door. See those enormous 
hinges, and look at those massive bolts and rivet- 
heads; then tell me what power can release the man 
behind whom that portal has been slammed. In front 
of the iron door stand four stalwart, iron-clad sol- 
diers. Before any man can reach the door, he must 
walk over the prostrate and lifeless forms of those 
lion-hearted warriors. But we pass through guards 
and gate unresisted and unseen, for we are phantoms 
from the nineteenth century walking in the first. What 
have we here? Four more soldiers and a door of 
thick planks studded with iron bolts. We pass 
through, as though guards and gate were nothing 
but fog. Here is another gate and a third company 
of guards, armed to the teeth. Still we glide on, like 
ghosts from the kingdom of death. 

Now we are in the inmost cell. What do you see? 
Stone walls, stone floor, stone ceiling. What else? 
Two soldiers standing with their backs against the 
door. Anything else? Two soldiers, making sixteen 
with all the rest, lying asleep on the floor; and, be- 
tween them, sleeping, lies the prisoner, bound with a 
chain to either keeper, so that, if he tries to rise, they 
will awake. That prisoner is Peter, one of the apos- 
tles of Jesus Christ. He has committed the crime 
of preaching salvation through faith in a crucified and 
risen Savior. King Herod hates the truth, and has 
imprisoned its greatest defender. That God himself 



Peter in Prison. 273 

may not be able to set him free, the tyrant has con- 
fined him in this cell, within these three doors and 
these triple walls, under the care of these sixteen sol- 
diers. Peter is doomed to die to-morrow morning. 
What power can save him from the executioner's 
sword? Who would give a penny for Peter's head? 

Wliile the prisoner sleeps, we leave the prison as 
we came. Now we are in the street. Follow me. 
What narrow, crooked streets these Oriental cities 
have! Have you walked far enough? Do you sup- 
pose you could find your way back to the prison? 

We will enter this house. But, first, I will tell 
you who lives here. It is a lady named Mary. I 
know nothing about her husband. She has a son 
named Mark, and a hired girl named Rose. Mary 
has company to-night. The principal room is filled 
with men and women. It is not a progressive-euchre 
party, or a Church social, but a cottage prayer-meet- 
ing. They are all on their knees as we enter. Some 
brother is leading in prayer. He prays with great 
fervor and earnestness. The burden of his petition 
is, "O God, bless Peter, and set him free!" All the 
others say, "Amen! Amen!" "O God, set Peter free!" 
goes round trie circle, in audible prayer, from every 
mouth and every heart. If you were asked to what 
denomination of Christians these people belong, you 
would say, "Surely they are Methodists." "O God, 
set Peter free!" Can God answer that prayer? Will 
he answer it? 

We leave the house of Mary, without the help of 
Rose to open the door, and hurry back to the prison. 
The condemned apostle is still asleep. His sandals, 
girdle, and outer garment are lying in a corner of 
the cell. Suddenly the place, which before was dark 

18 



274 The Wells of Salvation. 

as any midnight, is lighted up with the brightness of 
a hundred noon-days. In the center of the illumina- 
tion hovers a strange being in the form of a man, robed 
in garments of such dazzling and unearthly whiteness 
that no mortal eye can endure the sight. It is an angel 
from the realms of glory, brought down by the mighty 
power of prevailing prayer. Bending above the sleep- 
ing apostle, he strikes him on the side and raises him 
to his feet, saying, "Arise up quickly." The dazed 
and bewildered prisoner stands on his feet, while his 
chains fall clanking and ringing on the floor. The 
sleeping soldiers are locked in the embrace of a still 
sounder slumber, while those at the door fall like dead 
men, paralyzed with fear. "Gird thyself and bind on 
thy sandals," says the angel. Peter obeys, hardly 
knowing what he does. "Cast thy garment about 
thee, and follow me," again the heavenly messenger 
speaks. Led by his angelic guide, Peter walks out of 
the prison through doors which swing open of their 
own accord, and past sentinels who are unable to lift 
a finger against him. Reaching a safe distance in a 
familiar street, the angel vanishes, and Peter, coming 
to himself, exclaims, "Now I know of a surety, that 
the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me 
out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expecta- 
tion of the people of the Jews!" 

From the prison, Peter went to the cottage prayer- 
meeting. There was one person there who expected 
to see the apostle that night. It was Rose, the hired- 
girl. While the rest of the company were praying, 
"O Lord, set Peter free," with little faith that their 
prayers would be answered, her faith regarded Peter's 
liberation as a certainty, and she was at the door, with 
her ear at the key-hole, expecting to hear his step 



Peter in Prison. 275 

and voice. Soon her expectation was realized. So 
happy that she forgot to open the door, she burst into 
the room where the brethren and sisters were still at 
prayer, exclaiming, "Peter has come! Peter has 
come!" No one believed her. Everybody cried, 
"Rose, you are crazy!" But she insisted that she was 
not; that Peter was at the door. Then they said, "It 
is his guardian angel, with his face and voice." Mean- 
while, Peter was pounding on the door, and clamoring 
for admission. When at length the door had been 
opened, they saw, and believed, that God had an- 
swered their prayers. 

What lessons has this portion of sacred history 
for us? The first lesson is, that religion can save every- 
body from all worry and painful anxiety. Look at Peter 
in prison. There he lies on a bed of stone, in the 
deepest and darkest cell of Herod's dungeon, bound 
with chains, with three bolted doors and sixteen sol- 
diers between him and liberty, knowing that unless 
Divine power interposes in his behalf his head will be 
hacked off to-morrow morning, and yet he is sleeping 
as sweetly as a babe on its mother's bosom. How 
can he sleep on such a dreadful night? Why is he 
not awake, rolling in agony, thinking of the friends 
whom he will never see again, and shivering with 
terror as his imagination pictures the flashing sword 
of the executioner descending to cut off his head? 

Would you be able to sleep to-night if you knew 
you were to be beheaded to-morrow morning? The 
explanation is easy. Peter is a Christian, I do not 
say that he is a Church member, or a professor of 
religion. But he is a Christian, according to the true 
Bible standard. He is a Christian through and 
through. I presume he used to worry and fret and 



276 The Wells of Salvation. 

borrow trouble, and lie awake nights tormented with 
apprehensions of coming ill. But about ten years 
ago he received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and 
since that time he has never known what worry was, 
but has had perfect peace, believing that "all things 
work together for good to them that love God." 

What religion did for Peter, it will do for you, 
if you will have it in all its fullness. If you only be- 
lieved the promises which God has written in this 
Book with all your heart, you would never worry, 
or have one anxious care. Why should you not be- 
lieve God with all your heart? Did he ever deceive 
you? Does he ever forget? Is his arm ever shortened 
that he can not save? Can he lie? When you, a Chris- 
tian, worry or borrow trouble, you dishonor God ; you 
say to the world, in effect: "The religion of the Bible 
is not what it claims to be. It does not save me. It 
can not save you. You would better let it alone." 

Three hundred and forty-two years ago, Bishop 
Ridley was burned at the stake, in the city of Oxford, 
England, along with his brother bishop, Latimer. 
The evening before the execution, some of Ridley's 
friends were permitted to visit him in his prison cell. 
One of them offered to sit up with him all night. But 
he refused, saying, "I mean to go to bed, and, by God's 
will, to sleep as quietly as ever I did in all my life." 
And so it was. 

The same year that Ridley died at Oxford, John 
Rogers was burned at Smithfield. Before his execu- 
tion he was confined in Newgate Prison, with thieves 
and murderers. One night he lay down on his moldy 
straw, knowing that he was to burn the next morn- 
ing. Before him, only a few hours, was the most horri- 
ble form of death that his enemies could invent. Some- 



Peter in Prison. 277 

where outside the prison walls were his wife and ten 
children, weeping for him. And yet he lay down 
and slept so soundly that, when his keepers came the 
next morning to tell him to get ready for the fire, 
they had difficulty in shaking him awake. 

Such is the power of the religion of Jesus Christ 
to save those who enjoy it in its fullness from all men- 
tal restlessness, worry, and painful care. It is just 
what this busy, bustling, fretful, nervous generation 
needs. It is better to give sleep to a weary brain 
than all the drugs of all the doctors. Seek it this 
hour at Jesus' feet. Hear him say, "Come unto me, all 
ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you 
rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for 
I am meek and lowly of heart: and ye shall find rest 
unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden 
is light." Once more I ask you to look at Peter, in 
Herod's prison, on the eve of a horrible execution, 
"sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two 
chains," with fourteen other soldiers and three bolted 
doors between him and liberty, and know that a full 
measure of Christ's salvation is a perfect cure for all 
worry and corroding care. 

Another lesson which the story of Peter has for us 
is, that God hears and answers prayer for temporal 
blessings. Peter's release from prison was the direct 
result of the prayers of the Church. The Book says : 
"Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was 
made without ceasing of the Church unto God for 
him;" then it goes on to tell how the apostle w T as de- 
livered from his bonds. No one can doubt that the 
inspired writer intended to have us understand that 
God delivered Peter because the people prayed. But 
for prayer, Peter would have lost his head. In an- 



278 The Wells of Salvation. 

sw'er to prayer, God did what he would not otherwise 
have done. The faithful prayers of helpless men and 
women moved the Omnipotent arm to open the doors 
of Herod's dungeon. 

There is as much power in prayer to-day as there 
ever was. Prayer still moves the arm that moves the 
world. God still does things which otherwise he would 
not do, because his people pray. There are men, call- 
ing themselves Christians, who say that prayer never 
moves God at all; that the Almighty never does any- 
thing because we pray, which he would not do if we 
did not; that there is no good in prayer except the 
reflex influence on the heart that prays. If I held such 
opinions as those, I would leave the Church, burn my 
Bible, and call myself an infidel. God does interpose 
in human affairs, and interfere with nature's laws, in 
answer to prayer. Prayer has opened prison doors 
since Peter's day: 

Bishop C. C. McCabe, formerly known as ''Chap- 
lain" McCabe, is authority for the following story: 
H. M. Parkhurst was a soldier in the Union army. 
He belonged to the Twenty-second New York Cav- 
alry, which was recruited at Rochester. In 1864 he 
was captured by the Confederates, and started for 
Andersonville prison-pen. While on the way, on a 
freight train, he kicked a board off the car, and rolled 
out, while the train thundered on. He struck in a 
mud-puddle, and was unharmed by the fall. He fled 
to the woods ; but on the fourth day he was recaptured, 
and started for Andersonville again. Escaping a sec- 
ond time, he was hunted with bloodhounds and taken. 
But he escaped for the third time, and following the 
North Star, he almost reached the Union lines, when 
he was seized once more and hurried Southward. The 



Peter in Prison. 279 

captain of the force that captured him said : "This is the 
last time we shall chase after you. You shall be hung 
to-morrow morning." A rope was fixed to a tree, 
and great precautions were taken that he should be on 
hand to be hanged at sunrise. They spent the night 
in a little log-hut. Manacles were fastened to the 
prisoner's wrists and ankles; he was chained to the 
sill of the house; and two guards were placed at the 
door with loaded muskets, while the rest of the gang- 
lay around the house on the floor. At about ten 
o'clock the prisoner went to God with his trouble. 
He told him that if he would deliver him out of that 
difficulty, he would serve him with all his might the 
remainder of his days. He prayed till peace came 
into his heart, and he knew he was saved. Then he 
fell asleep, believing that all would be well. 

At about two o'clock he suddenly awoke. He 
never could tell what awakened him. To his amaze- 
ment his limbs were free. The manacles lay at his 
feet. He looked at the door. There was only one 
guard, and he was fast asleep. "Well," said Park- 
hurst, "the Lord has done his part, and I will do 
mine." He arose, stole softly past the guard, walked 
out under the tree from which the rope was swinging, 
and was once more on his way toward home. This 
time he was successful. He seems not to have been 
pursued. When he came in sight of the Stars and 
Stripes, he fell on his knees, and gave thanks to God. 
When the war was over, he became a Methodist min- 
ister, and, after some years of earnest labor for Christ, 
died in the triumphs of the faith which he had preached 
to others. I once related this story in a sermon. After 
the service a man came to me, and said: "That man 
was my pastor; I have often heard the story from his 



280 The Wells of Salvation. 

own lips." I hold that that was a miracle, wrought 
by the power of God in answer to prayer, as truly as 
was Peter's release from Herod's prison. 

I want to tell you that God is not dead, as many 
seem to suppose. Peter's God is our God. The God 
of the Church of the first century is the God of the 
Church of the nineteenth century. We can have all 
spiritual blessings, and marvelous temporal blessings, 
in answer to importunate, believing prayer. 

Again, the story, of which our text is a part, teaches 
us the difference between the prayer of faith and the 
prayer of formality. There was one person at that 
cottage prayer-meeting who prayed the prayer of 
faith. It was the hired-girl, Rose. She really believed 
that God would answer the prayers of his people, and 
send Peter to them that very night. The others did 
not really believe that God would answer their prayers. 
I would not say that they had no faith. But surely 
their faith was very weak and imperfect ; for when God 
did what they were asking him to do, they were greatly 
surprised, and would not be convinced that he had 
heard them. Their prayers were more a form than 
a reality. 

Like them are many modern Christians. We meet 
in the house of God and pray for large blessings, when 
most of us have very little expectation that we shall 
receive. If God should do half as much as we ask 
him to do, we should be frightened almost to death. 
We use a lot of fine phrases, which we have invented 
or borrowed, hardly knowing what they mean, and 
hardly thinking what we are saying. Such prayers 
have very little value. 

Here and there in our Churches there is a man or 
woman, like Mary's hired-girl, Rose, who , prays in 



Peter in Prison. 281 

real faith. Most frequently they are persons in the 
humbler walks of life. They are almost unknown on 
earth; but their names are often on the tongues of 
saints and angels before the throne. Their prayers 
open prison doors. Their prayers bring sweeping 
revivals of religion. Their prayers make Satan tremble 
on his tottering throne. 

Notice how it was with Miss Rose, of Jerusalem. 
She prayed for Peter's release. She knew the next 
morning had been appointed for his execution, and 
she believed that God would set him free that night. 
Her faith was so strong that she was at the door listen- 
ing for Peter's rap and voice. When she heard him, 
she was not surprised, but ran back into the house, 
full of joy, and broke up the prayer-meeting by shout- 
ing, "Peter has come! Peter has come!" She was 
so trustful and simple-minded that she supposed, of 
course, God would deliver Peter in answer to the 
prayers of his people; it never occurred to her mind 
that it could possibly be otherwise. 

Like Rose was that little girl, of whom you have 
all heard, who, when a day was appointed for the 
people to meet in the church and pray for rain, took 
her umbrella. When some one said, "What do you 
carry an umbrella for in such dry weather as this?" 
she answered, in the greatest surprise, "Why, I 
thought we were going to pray for rain! Of course, 
I shall need an umbrella." In that churchful of peo- 
ple she was the only one who did not get wet going 
home. 

Brother, sister, do not insult God by praying in 
unbelief. When you pray, think what you are saying, 
and ask only for those things which you believe God 
will give. Ask, in the simplest and most direct words 



282 The Wells of Salvation. 

which you can find, for the blessings which you want 
now. Ask in faith. "What things soever ye desire 
when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye 
shall have them." Believe! believe! believe! If you 
ask, "How shall I believe?" I answer: The way to 
believe is to believe. Some persons are all the time 
trying to believe. Stop trying to believe, and believe. 

O for the faith of that simple servant-girl at Jeru- 
salem! If there were a few such believers in all our 
Churches, the whole land, and world, would soon be 
ablaze with the quenchless flames of a Pentecostal 
revival. 

Peter, imprisoned and released, is a type of many 
other prisoners who are not shut up within walls of 
stone and gates of iron. Some men are confined in 
dungeons of adverse circumstances, or of fierce an- 
tagonisms, or of financial embarrassments, or of over- 
whelming afflictions. 

Were you never such a prisoner? Did you never 
find yourself engaged in some laudable undertaking, 
where it seemed as though you could never advance 
another step? Then you were a prisoner. Did it 
never seem to you that everything and everybody 
were against you, so that to give up the battle of life 
and die would be a relief? Then you were a prisoner. 
Were you never buried in debts so deep that it looked 
as though you could never get out? Then you were a 
prisoner. Were you never shut in by calamities and 
sorrows piled on sorrows, so that you could not see 
the sky or a ray of light? Then you were a prisoner. 
To all such prisoners the text promises release. In 
answer to prayer, "made without ceasing," your chains 
will fall off, your jailers will be smitten with paralysis, 
your dungeon doors will swing open of their own ac- 



Peter in Prison. 283 

cord, and, when you come to yourself, you will ex- 
claim, "Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath 
sent his angel, and hath delivered me!" Prayer will 
open any prison, and set any prisoner free. 

A Methodist minister, in the State of Vermont, 
had retired from the pastorate, on account of the loss 
of his voice, and had resumed his trade of blacksmith- 
ing in a little shop which he built ten miles from his 
last charge. He borrowed money to build his shop 
and purchase his tools; but little work came in; his 
family expenses were large; and at the end of the year 
he found himself in great financial embarrassment. 
He was a prisoner. He had done his best to keep 
free; but he was a prisoner. He was in a worse prison 
than old Herod's at Jerusalem. He was in the dun- 
geon of debt — debts before him, debts behind him, 
debts on the right hand, debts on the left hand, debts 
beneath him, debts above him, debts at the first door, 
debts at the middle door, debts at the outside door. 
He tried every way to escape. He could do nothing 
but pray. This he did with all his heart for many 
days. 

One night he was sleeping, or trying to sleep, 
between two debts, bound with two debts, while four- 
teen other debts before the door kept the prison. The 
next day certain obligations must be met, or some- 
thing worse than death — the loss of his reputation as 
a Christian minister — would be the result. He thought 
if he could only borrow a certain sum of money for 
a few months he could meet his obligations for the 
time, and pay back the borrowed money when it should 
come due. So he humbly and trustingly asked God 
to send him a certain amount, which he named. He 
prayed in faith, and fell asleep.. 



284 The Wells of Salvation. 

When he awoke, "a light shined in the prison;" the 
Lord had sent his angel. The word angel means a 
messenger. The Lord had sent a messenger. A 
wealthy Christian man from the minister's last charge 
was at the door. As soon as he came in, he said, "Do 
you want any money?" "Yes," answered the min- 
ister, "I do." "How much?" "Three hundred dol- 
lars." "I knew you did. God told me so last night 
in a dream, twice repeated. Here is the money. My 
wife told me I would better come and find out before 
I took it out of the bank and lost my interest, for I 
might be mistaken; but I was so sure I brought it 
along. Take it; here it is." The man of God was 
almost beside himself with wonder and joy. When 
he was come to himself, he said, "Now I know of a 
surety that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath de- 
livered me out of the hand of the Herod of debt." 
Brother, if you are in prison anywhere, the Lord, 
in answer to prayer, will send his angel and bring 
you out. 

Lastly — and this is the most important lesson of 
our text — Peter, imprisoned and released, symbolizes 
the sinner and the manner of his release from the bond- 
age of sin. Every sinner, every unconverted person, 
is a prisoner. He is shut up in Satan's dungeon. 
Walls of evil habits close him round. He is barred in 
behind iron doors of sinful propensities and passions. 
He is bound with chains of appetite and lust. 

Many times sixteen devils and fiends watch at the 
gates to prevent his escape. You may not wish to 
agree with me when I say every sinner is a prisoner in 
Satan's dungeon. You know that the drunkard is a 
prisoner. Chains of adamantine habit are twisted in 
sevenfold coils around his soul. The demons of the 



Peter in Prison. 285 

pit are his jailers, and will soon be his executioners. 
He drinks the poisoned cup, which he knows will 
destroy his body and damn his soul. You are ready 
to admit that the opium victim' is a prisoner. Against 
reason and conscience and will, he persists in his de- 
grading habit because the spirit of evil has him in 
his power. You will not object when I say that the 
profane swearer is a prisoner. 

A man whom Christianity had lifted out of the 
depths said to me, speaking of his old life of sin: 
''There was only one way in which I could have been 
cured of swearing; that was to cut out my tongue. 
If a gallows had stood before me with dangling rope, 
and I had been told that if I swore again I should be 
hung at once, I could not have kept the profane words 
from slipping out of my mouth." That man was a 
captive in Satan's prison. So are all sinners. The 
only difference is in the thickness of their prison walls, 
the weight of their chains, and the number of their 
jailers. 

My friend, if you are unconverted, you are in 
prison. The night of sin is upon you. You are bound 
with the two chains of inward and outward corruption. 
You are sleeping between two soldiers, whose names 
are the World and the Flesh. A crowd of depraved 
passions before the door keep the prison. Soon the 
morning of eternity will come. Then you will be led 
out to execution; and your soul will taste the bitter 
pains of eternal death. 

How is the sinner delivered from the prison of 
sin and saved from eternal death? The first agency 
is prayer. The great hope in your case, my friend, 
is that prayer is "made without ceasing of the Church 
unto God" for you. If the Church did not pray, few, 



286 The Wells of Salvation. 

if any, sinners would ever be saved. But you must 
pray for yourself. In answer to prayer a light will 
shine in the darkness of your prison cell. An angel 
will arouse you from your sleep, and lift you to your 
feet. The chains, which all the wisdom and power 
of man could not break, will fall from your limbs. 
Your sinful passions and appetites and lusts will be 
paralyzed by the power of God. Your prison doors 
will open of their own accord, and you will walk 
forth a free man. You will be so happy that you 
will almost think the whole affair is a dream. But 
soon you will come to yourself, and will joyfully ex- 
claim, "Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath 
sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand 
of the devil, and from all the expectation of my spir- 
itual foes!" 

You see the difference between the sinner and the 
Christian. The sinner is a person who, the night 
before his intended execution, is sleeping between two 
soldiers, bound with two chains, while the keepers 
before the door keep the prison. The Christian is a 
free man, who can say, "Now I know that the Lord 
hath sent his angel and hath delivered me." 

Peter did not guess, or hope, that the Lord had 
delivered him from prison; he knew it beyond the 
shadow of a doubt. The Christian is not obliged to 
sing: 

" 'Tis a point I long to know, 

Much it gives my anxious thought, — 
Do I love the Lord, or no ? 

Am I his, or am I not?" 

He can say: "I know that Jesus saves me, saves me 
now." Millions on millions have had that experience; 
it may be yours. 



Peter in Prisox. 287 

Less than a hundred miles from this place lived 
a man sixty-five years old, who had been a prisoner in 
Satan's dungeon from boyhood. He was a very hard 
and wicked man — a drunkard, a gambler, an awful 
blasphemer, a fighter, and a hater of everything good. 
He had traveled up and down the land, doing all man- 
ner of evil. He had once been gone from home 
twenty-one years, without letting any of his friends 
know where he was. He had hardly seen the inside of 
a church a dozen times in fifty years. He would not 
allow his wife, who had once professed religion, to 
have a Bible in the house. He was the iron-bound 
captive of Satan, with a whole army of devils guarding 
his prison doors. 

But a flash of light penetrated his cell, and an angel, 
in the person of a Christian merchant, at whose store 
the man was trading, smote him on the side one day 
with the question, "Why do n't you become a Chris- 
tian?" In the utmost astonishment, the old sinner 
replied, "Do you think I could become a Christian?" 
"Yes, you can ; of course you can," said the angel, the 
messenger. 

A few days after, the Christian was passing the 
old man's house, and felt a strong impression that he 
ought to go in. The old man was very glad to see 
him. He was under deep conviction, and asked him 
to pray with him, and to bring the minister to see 
him. Both requests were readily granted. Both the 
minister and the merchant prayed with him, and he 
prayed aloud in their presence for himself. For about 
a week the old man was in the most awful agony on 
account of his sins, praying constantly, asking his 
wife's forgiveness for a thousand acts of cruelty and 
neglect, and imploring Divine pardon for this and that 



288 The Wells of Salvation. 

sin which memory saw scattered along the track of 
sixty wicked years. 

Such prayer and repentance bore the abundant 
fruits of peace and righteousness. One day he came 
into the store of his young friend, with his face radiant 
with the joy of heaven, and with his mouth full of the 
praises of God. For months after he did little else 
than go about the village, telling everybody what won- 
derful things God had done for his soul. The language 
of his heart was: "Now I know of a surety that the 
Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out 
of the hand of Satan and from all my sins." 

Is that your testimony to-day, my brother? If not, 
will you not seek such an experience this very hour? 
Why languish in the prison of sin, when you may be 
free in Jesus Christ? 



XVI. 

THE TIERY EURNACE. 

" Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the 
fire, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." — 
Daniei, hi, 25. 

T ET us imagine our text to be a mountain, and, 
*-* climbing to its summit, let us take a bird's-eye 
view of our surroundings. We are in the midst of a 
vast plain, perfectly flat, stretching away in all direc- 
tions toward the horizon. The plain is checked with 
grain-fields and orchards and vineyards and meadows 
and pastures, and dotted with villages and villas. 
Through the middle winds a majestic river, nearly a 
mile in width. 

Right at our feet is the largest and most splendid 
city on which the sun ever shone. It covers an area of 
one hundred and twenty-five thousand acres. In 
shape, it is a perfect square. The distance around 
the square is fifty-six miles. The boundary is a mighty 
wall, three hundred and thirty-five feet high, and 
eighty-five feet thick. The top of the wall is a boule- 
vard, a magnificent avenue, on which the millionaires 
can ride, in their gilded chariots, between majestic 
towers rising hundreds of feet above their heads. 
Through the wall are onQ hundred huge openings, 
closed with one hundred gates of solid brass, hinged 
to brazen posts and spanned by brazen beams. The 
space within the wall is a perfect checker-board. The 
squares which make up the board are six hundred 

19 289 



2 go The Wells of Salvation. 

and seventy-six in number; and each square contains 
one hundred and eighty-five acres. Almost every 
square is filled with parks and gardens and flower-beds 
and fountains and statues and palaces and mansions. 
The lines which separate the squares are fifty broad 
avenues — twenty-five running east and west, and 
twenty-five running north and south. Each avenue 
begins and ends at a gate, and is fourteen miles long. 
Placed end to end, they would stretch through a dis- 
tance of seven hundred miles. 

The river passes through the city. Entering and 
departing, it creeps under the wall. While it is going 
through, it is kept in its proper place by two parallel 
walls. Each of these walls has twenty-five openings, 
corresponding with as many avenues. One avenue 
crosses the river on a bridge. Forty-eight wharves 
and twenty-four lines of ferry-boats satisfy the others. 

The city has two buildings which surpass all the 
rest. On the western bank of the river is the Temple 
of Belus, or Tower of Babel; on the eastern is the 
palace of the king. The temple is six hundred and 
six feet high; the palace is seven miles and a half in 
circumference. The temple draws crowds of curious 
visitors, who climb to its top, by means of a winding 
stair-case, on foot, or on the backs of horses and mules. 
The court of the palace contains the Hanging-garden, 
where the queen entertains her friends, and imagines 
that she is living amid the groves of her native 
Median hills. . 

Looking down into the city, we see no signs of 
life. The queen is not in. her garden. The crowds 
are not on the tower. The ferry-boats are not making 
their trips, but are moored to the silent wharves. The 
bridge feels no pressure of wheel or hoof. The streets 



The Fiery Furnace. 291 

are silent. The parks are deserted. The temples are 
forsaken. The markets are empty. The mills are 
dumb. The kitchens are cold. The gates are un L 
barred. The sentinels are gone. All life seems to 
have fled. Mighty Babylon, with its swarming mill- 
ions, looks like a tomb. 

How can this strange phenomenon be explained? 
Look away to the southeast, five miles, to a part of 
the plain called Dura, and you will see the answer to 
your question. There scores of acres of ground are 
black with human beings. The, city has literally 
dumped itself on the plain of Dura. Every inhabitant 
of Babylon that can move, or be moved, is at Dura. 
The world is at Dura. The world is at Dura by its 
representatives. Every race and nation and tribe and 
clan and city and village and hamlet, from Ethiopia 
to India and from the Caspian to the Mediterranean, 
has sent its chief men as delegates to this convention 
at Dura. Such a vast concourse of human beings 
the sun probably never looked upon before. 

Out of this ocean of human heads rises a mound, 
or elevated platform, built of earth and brick, and 
faced with enameled tiles in black and orange and 
red and gold and yellow and blue and silver. 

On the summit of the mound, under a canopy of 
satin and ostrich plumes, stands a throne of ebony, 
ivory, and gold, studded with all manner of precious 
stones. The throne is not empty. On it, clad in 
purple robes heavy with diamonds, with a sparkling 
diadem on his head, sits Nebuchadnezzar the Mag- 
nificent, the conqueror of nations, king of Babylon, 
and emperor of the world. 

Behind the throne, on a huge pedestal, rises a 
colossal statue — a duplicate, in gold, of the king him- 



292 The Wells of Salvation. 

self — a gold or gilded Nebuchadnezzar, ninety feet 
tall, including the pedestal, and nine feet thick from 
breast to back. It is a stupendous representation of 
the wealth and power and pride of that mighty despot,, 
who has his iron-shod heel on the neck of the human 
race. 

In an open space, a few hundred feet to the front, 
is an odd-looking structure built of hard-burned brick. 
Its base is a circle. Its top is a dome. It is about 
thirty feet high. From its top rises a short chimney, 
which sends forth a column of black smoke, with 
mingled sparks and tongues of fire. Through a door 
in front a couple of stout Ethiopian slaves, with masks 
to protect their faces against the intense heat, are 
stuffing in wood and pitch. That is Nebuchadnezzar's 
fiery furnace, of which you have heard so much. 
It was not built to smelt iron-ore, or to burn stone to 
lime, or to melt sand to glass, but to consume the 
bodies of men who dare to express opinions contrary 
to the tyrant's mind. Nebuchadnezzar does not hang, 
or stab, or behead, or poison his enemies; he turns 
them into smoke and ashes in this awful heat. 

But what does all this mean? Nebuchadnezzar 
has lately returned from the conquest of Egypt and 
Palestine^ laden with spoil and puffed up with pride 
and self-conceit. Flattered by his courtiers and ap- 
plauded by his soldiers, he imagines that he is a god, 
and resolves to compel the world to worship him. 
So he has erected this statue, like one which he once 
saw in a dream, with head and face copied from his 
own; and this is the day appointed for its dedication. 

Loud-voiced heralds have gone everywhere, shout- 
ing, through the brazen throats of their trumpets, 
that, when the royal bands begin to play, every human 



The Fiery Furnace. 293 

being shall fall down and worship the golden image 
which stands on the mound, and the king who sits on 
his throne in front; and that "whoever falleth not down 
and worshipeth, shall the same hour be cast into the 
midst of the burning, fiery furnace." 

Silence like that of the grave follows this procla- 
mation. The interval seems very long. Suddenly 
the stillness is broken by a mighty burst of martial 
melody. Every instrument in the king's bands peals 
forth its peculiar tone. The blended strains, like a 
cyclone of sound, roll out over the plain, and strike 
against the ramparts of the empty city. 

For a second every person in that vast assembly 
stands motionless, looking at the image and the as- 
cending smoke of the fiery furnace. Worship, or 
burn, is the only choice. The decision is quickly 
made; in most cases, it was made in advance. Down 
goes the world on its knees, on its face, with its face 
in the dust, worshiping a sinful man as though he 
were Almighty God. Heaven had never looked down 
on such outrageous idolatry and blasphemy. It is 
a wonder that the Sovereign of the skies did not send 
down a legion of angels, with flaming swords, to take 
vengeance on that impious multitude and their still 
more impious king. If God's ways were like men's 
ways, that would have been the concluding scene of 
the dedication of Nebuchadnezzar's golden image. 
If God were like you and me, Dura would have been 
turned into a grave-yard, and there would have been 
no living to bury the dead. 

But the All-wise had a better plan for vindicating 
his honor and establishing the truth. There were 
three men who would not worship the golden image — 
only three among those millions. Their names — 



294 The Wells of Salvation. 

which the world will never forget — were Shadrach, 
Meshach, and Abednego. They were Jews. They 
were servants of the living God. They knew that 
idolatry was a grievous sin; and they preferred death 
in its most horrible form to sin of any kind. Clearly 
understanding the consequences, they stood while all 
the world bowed down. 

They did not escape detection. They did not try 
to hide. Being officers of the government, they stood 
near the throne. Some of their fellow-officers saw 
them standing, and informed the king, saying: "O 
king, live forever. There are certain Jews whom thou 
hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, 
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O 
king, have not regarded thee ; they serve not thy gods, 
nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." 

When the king heard those words, his proud heart 
was stung to the quick, and his passions were kindled 
into a furious rage. Fairly white with anger, he com- 
manded the three Jews to be seized, and to be dragged 
to the foot of the throne. Glaring at them, with the 
fire of hell in his eyes, he hissed out these words: "Is 
it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not 
ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image 
which I have set up? Now if ye be ready to fall down 
and worship, well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be 
cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery 
furnace; and who is that god that shall deliver you 
out of my hands?" Those men of God were not 
terrified in the least. They had decided what to do, 
and had counted the cost. Standing between the red- 
hot furnace and the angry king, they calmly made an- 
swer: "O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to 
answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom 



The Fiery Furnace. 295 

we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery 
furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O 
king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that 
we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden 
image which thou hast set up." 

Then the despot's fury knew no bounds. Those 
puny men had dared to defy him to his face, in the 
presence of the world. They should feel the full force 
of his mighty hand. He commanded the furnace to 
be charged to the full with the most combustible ma- 
terials, till it was as hot as wood and pitch and oil 
and sulphur could make it. Back rolled the crowd, 
driven by the heat, leaving a large, open circle around 
the belching volcano. The three young men stood 
calmly watching the preparation for themselves of a 
most horrible death. 

When the furnace was as much like hell as it 
could be made, the king ordered several of the strong- 
est men in his army to bind the three Jews and to cast 
them into the fire. I can imagine how it was done. 
Yonder is the furnace, in the center of a circle which 
it has made for itself by pushing the crowd back with 
volley after volley of overpowering heat. Through its 
chimney it vomits clouds of inky smoke and tongues 
of livid flame. It roars as though a hundred demons, 
confined within, were suffering punishment for their 
sins. Half-way from its base to its top is a large 
opening, closed with an iron door, which the heat 
has painted a fiery red. Leading up to the door is an 
inclined plane of brick and earth. The martyrs, with 
their hands bound behind their backs, are pushed up 
the slope, side by side, by the soldiers walking behind 
them, and using them as shields against the heat. 
When the door is reached, the Ethiopians swing it 



296 The Wells of Salvation. 

open with iron hooks, and, at the same instant, the 
soldiers give the condemned a sudden and violent 
push. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fall down 
"into the midst of the fire;" and the soldiers, who 
pushed them in, fall back dead, slain by the hot 
breath of the furnace. The frightened slaves flee as 
from the mouth of hell, chased by the angry flames 
which leap from the open door. 

Then took place one of the most marvelous events 
ever recorded in the annals of the human race. Ac- 
cording to the Greek translation of the Old Testa- 
ment, from which our Savior always quoted, strains 
of sweetest music were heard to issue from the fur- 
nace, above the roaring of the flames. It was the 
voice of singing. The three young men, with a fourth, 
of glorious aspect and celestial voice, were walking 
to and fro in the furnace, as though it were the Garden 
of Eden, singing a song of praise and joyful adora- 
tion. Such music had never been heard on earth. 
The people listened in silent wonder. The king's 
musicians dropped their instruments, and gazed, spell- 
bound, into the fire. The king heard and saw and 
wondered. He was the only one who dared to break 
the stillness of that awful hour. Springing to his feet, 
he called to his counselors, "Did we not cast three 
men bound into the midst of the fire?" They meekly 
answered, "Yes." "But," said he, "I see four men 
loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have 
no hurt ; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of 
God." Then that proud monarch, conqueror of na- 
tions and sovereign of the world, descended from his 
throne, and, going as near as he could to the door of 
the furnace, humbly addressed the men whom he had 
tried to murder: "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 



The Fiery Furnace. 297 

ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and 
come hither." The song ceased. The Divine being 
vanished. The three young men turned their faces 
toward this world. They walked out of their Eden 
through the red-hot furnace-door. They stepped over 
the charred and smoking bodies of their would-be 
executioners. They stood, as loyal subjects, before 
their king. 

Then an inquest was held upon the bodies of the 
three Jews by the king and all the princes, governors, 
captains, and counselors. The unanimous verdict 
of that august jury was that Shadrach, Meshach, and 
Abednego had not sustained the slightest injury; that 
not a hair of their heads had been singed, or a thread 
of their garments scorched; neither could any smell 
of fire be detected upon them. Immediately the king, 
ashamed of his idolatry and his blasphemous self- 
conceit, uttered these words to the assembled millions 
through his loud-voiced heralds: "Blessed be the God 
of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent 
his angel and delivered his servants that trusted in 
him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded 
their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship 
any god except their own God. Therefore I make a 
decree, that every people, nation, and langauge, which 
speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, 
Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and 
their houses shall be made a dunghill; because there 
is no other God that can deliver after this sort." Thus 
a convention which the devil had called to build up his 
kingdom was, by the providence of God, turned into 
a general conference, to promote the cause of truth 
and righteousness. 

Before we proceed to evolve from the text and 



298 The Wells of Salvation. 

context the lessons which they contain, I wish to call 
your attention to a remarkable discovery which con- 
firms the truth of this portion of God's Word. In- 
fidels make sport of the story of Nebuchadnezzar's 
fiery furnace, and the three young men who came out 
of it unharmed. They not only say that such a miracle 
could not be, but pronounce the whole account of the 
worship of the image and the casting of men into the 
furnace because they would not worship, improbable 
and absurd. A few years ago an archaeologist, dig- 
ging in the ruins of ancient Babylon, unearthed a 
signet-ring, which seems to have been preserved by 
the providence of God on purpose to confound un- 
believers. It is now the property of an English gen- 
tleman named Burgoyne. On it is a very delicate 
carving, representing a gigantic idol and an immense 
crowd of worshipers all around. On one side is a 
furnace, in which three men are standing. That won- 
derful old gem, hidden away for thousands of years, 
and now brought forth to the light unchanged, is 
almost as strong a confirmation of the story of the 
three Hebrews in the fiery furnace as though it were 
a photograph taken on the spot. 

That portion of the Euphrates valley which lies 
about five miles to the southeast of the ruins of Baby- 
lon is still called "Dura" by the natives. Rising out 
of it is a large, square mound, twenty feet high, bearing 
on its top a huge mass of brick-work, resembling the 
pedestal of a colossal statue. When the traveler looks 
upon that structure, the thought instantly strikes him, 
"This is where Nebuchadnezzar's golden image 
stood." Diodorus Siculus, the famous historian and 
traveler, visiting Babylon nearly two thousand years 
ago, saw a huge golden statue, containing fifteen 



The Fiery Furnace. 299 

million dollars' worth of the precious metal. His 
description makes us believe that he was looking upon 
the identical image which Shadrach, Meshach, and 
Abednego refused to worship. All the voices of his- 
tory and all the echoes of archaeological science con- 
tradict the falsehoods of infidelity. 

But what are the lessons which are suggested and 
enforced by the text? A very important lesson is this: 
God is always on the side of those who trust and obey 
him. He takes care of his own; and his own are those 
who will do exactly right. It is always best to do 
right, and not make the slightest compromise with 
sin. Imagine, if you can, the situation of those young 
men. On one side was a golden image, before which 
all the world was kneeling, probably, with little or no 
consciousness of wrong in so doing. On the other 
side was a red-hot furnace, with its fiery jaws open 
to devour the helpless victims of a heartless tyrant's 
hotter hate. They had a moment in which to decide 
whether they would go into the furnace or bend the 
knee in real, or seeming, worship before the statue of 
their king. They instantly decided that to be burned 
alive was a smaller evil than to transgress the law of 
God. The All-wise set the seal of his approval on 
their decision by performing a stupendous miracle 
in their behalf in the eyes of all the world. 

When will the children of men learn that nothing 
is harmful but sin? To knowingly deviate, in the 
slightest degree, from the straight line of absolute 
right is worse than to suffer all possible earthly loss 
or pain. If it is ever best to bend, to the right or left, 
from the straight line of right, by so much as the thick- 
ness of a hair, then right is not right, and God is not 
God, and the only religion is atheism. When solicited 



3oo The Wells of Salvation. 

to perform any action, the first question you should 
ask is, "Is it right?" If the most accurate answer you 
can find is "No," do not perform it, though the world 
promise you all possible riches and honors and pleas- 
ures if you consent, and Nebuchadnezzar's fiery fur- 
nace opens its jaws to swallow you if you refuse. 

The hardest lesson mankind has to learn is that 
it is always best to do right. There are many of the 
professed children of God who have not yet discovered 
that great, eternal, bed-rock truth. Many of them, 
standing between Nebuchadnezzar's image and his 
flaming furnace, bow to the former to escape the latter, 
and call such yielding a larger liberty and a broader 
faith. 

Sometimes the furnace is financial loss. A Chris- 
tian merchant finds himself where, if he does exactly 
what his conscience says is right, he will, apparently, 
lose a large amount of valuable trade. But if he bends 
a little, the world will say, "Well done;" the devil will 
say, "Business is business," and the jingling silver 
will make sweet music in his till. A customer asks, 
"Is this piece of goods all wool?" If the merchant 
tells the truth, and says "No," the customer will go 
away with his money, and be worse cheated across 
the street. If he says "Yes," the customer will buy 
the goods, and never know that he has been deceived. 

A merchant has a commodity on his shelves, for 
which there is a large demand, and which yields an 
immense profit. Its use is harmful in every case; and 
to many, especially the young, it is positively ruinous 
and damning. Ought a Christian man to sell such 
stuff? Is it exactly right? His conscience answers, 
"No." But the devil says: "Think how much you 
will lose if your abandon this part of your business. 



The Fiery Furnace. 301 

Besides, if you do not sell, others will; you might as 
well have your share of the profit, and give a part 
to the Church, as to let your ungodly neighbor have 
it all." 

A man, with a family to support, holds a position 
which pays him well. By and by his employer says, 
"You must work Sundays, or surrender your place 
to another." Is it right to labor on the Lord's-day 
and never go to Church? The fourth commandment 
is a perfect answer to that question. But if he does 
not consent to do wrong, he will lose his place, and 
his children may cry for bread. He must live. The 
three Hebrews were in a worse strait than that. They 
might have said: "We must live. If we refuse to bow 
before the golden image, we shall be thrown into the 
fire." Were they wise in choosing the fire? God 
says they were. It is better to suffer the worst losses 
and the most dreadful agonies than to commit the 
smallest sin. 

But God did not let the Hebrews suffer because 
of their devotion to him. He let their faith be tried 
to the extent of being cast into the fire, and then 
brought them out alive, and gave them back all they 
had sacrificed, with added honors before all the world. 
It is often so to-day. I know a grocer who abandoned 
the sale of tobacco and cigars because he became con- 
vinced that it was wrong, though they yielded him 
an annual profit of three thousand dollars. The re- 
sult was that the first year after he made the sacrifice 
the profits of his business were more than three thou- 
sand dollars above what they had ever been before; 
and, during these years of financial distress, he has 
been most marvelously prospered amid the ruins of 
many of his competitors. 



302 The Wells of Salvation. 

God does not always save his people from the fire. 
He has permitted millions of his faithful ones to be 
martyred. But the martyrs were not really harmed. 
Had the flames devoured Shadrach, Meshach, and 
Abednego, the chariots of the skies would have borne 
their souls straight to Paradise, there to "drink of the 
river of" God's "pleasures"' for ever and ever. 
Whether the Almighty, All-wise Ruler of the Universe 
prevents or permits worldly suffering and loss, he 
always fulfills the promises: "The Lord God is a sun 
and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no 
good thing will he withhold from them that walk up- 
rightly;" and "All things work together for good to 
them that love God." 

Another important lesson of the text is, that the 
way to convert the world to Christ is for all Chris- 
tians to be like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 
Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed by the fortitude 
of those men, and by the deliverance which God gave 
them, that he professedly, at least, embraced the true 
religion, and commanded all his subjects to do the 
same. The world is not to be won by compromising 
with sin (or by keeping abreast of the times, as some 
weak-kneed professors of religion call it), but by 
living up to the letter of the law of God, in the spirit 
of the gospel of Christ. 

If all Christians would realize that the printing- 
press and the railroad and the telegraph and the tele- 
phone and the trolley-cars have not abolished the Ten 
Commandments; if they would stop patronizing those 
great anti-Christian institutions, the Sunday news- 
paper and the Sunday cars; if they would let alone 
all sinful and doubtful amusements, such as the 
Church has always condemned; if they would stop 



The Fiery Furnace. 303 

all Sunday labor, at the risk of poverty and beggary; 
if they would make Methodist and Presbyterian and 
Baptist synonyms for honesty and virtue and truth 
and love, — society would soon be transformed, and 
"the kingdoms of this world" would "become the 
kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ." The Church 
which is to conquer the world is the Church whose 
members, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 
would rather go into Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace 
than to do the smallest wrong. 

The grand lesson taught by the text is, that the 
greatest spiritual blessings come to those who are in 
the furnace of worldly affliction. When the three 
Hebrews had been cast into the midst of the burning 
fiery furnace, heated to seven times its wonted degree 
of fury, "then Nebuchadnezzar, the king, was aston- 
ished, and rose up in haste and spake, and said unto his 
counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the 
midst of the fire?" They answered, "True, O king." 
He answered, and said: "Lo, I see four men loose, 
walking in the midst of the fire; and the form of the 
fourth is like the Son of God." In the furnace, Shad- 
rach, Meshach, and Abednego saw their Redeemer, 
and walked in joyous communion with the Lord of 
glory. That must have been the most blessed and 
glorious hour of their lives. They must have looked 
back upon that time, in after years, and thanked God 
that they were permitted to be cast into Nebuchad- 
nezzar's fiery furnace. They must have told their 
children's children and listening thousands of pious 
worshipers, with voices choking with estatic emotion 
and with eyes blinded with tears of rapturous joy, how, 
when they stood alone against the wrath of the king 
and the judgment of a hostile world, and suffered 



304 The Wells of Salvation. 

themselves to be cast into a raging furnace, belching 
out tongues of flame and clouds of smoke, they found 
the place a veritable heaven, and saw and walked and 
talked with the eternal Son of God. If Shadrach, Me- 
shach, and Abednego had not gone into the furnace, 
how much they would have missed! how little they 
would have known of God, compared with what they 
did learn of him! They had abundant reason to thank 
God for the furnace as long as they lived; and they 
will thank God for the furnace through eternal ages. 

If you have never been in the furnace of affliction, 
you have not yet seen the sweetest and most wonder- 
ful side of the Divine character. God makes the most 
intimate and delightful revelations of himself only to 
those who are in the furnace; and the hotter the 
fire, the brighter and more glorious "the form of the 
Fourth" appears. In fact, you can not really know 
God until you know him as the Comforter; and you 
can not know him as the Comforter till he is revealed 
to you in the lurid flames of the sevenfold-heated 
furnace of affliction. 

Many of the children of men can not see God till 
they are physically blind; they do not hear God till 
they are physically deaf; they do not touch the Unseen 
Hand till the hand of flesh is paralyzed; they do not 
walk in the path to heaven till they have lost the power 
of physical locomotion; they do not fly toward the 
mount of God till the wings of all their earthly am- 
bitions have been clipped; they do not become rich 
till they have been reduced to extremest poverty; they 
do not lay up treasures in heaven till they have lost 
all the treasures of earth; they do not walk with God 
till they walk in the midst of the fire. 

I had a parishioner. He had health, a pleasant 



% Thjs Fiery Furnace. 305 

home, wife, children, an honorable occupation, a large 
income. He professed religion, but knew little of 
its sweets and joys. Now he is widowed, childless, 
poor, crippled, blind. But he is one of the happiest 
of mortals. In the furnace of affliction he found God, 
and now walks and talks with him every day. 

Do not invent, or borrow, trouble. Do not im- 
agine that you are afflicted when you are not. Do not 
build your own furnace, or light your own fire. Do 
not go to Nebuchadnezzar and ask him to burn you. 
Do not jump into the fire. Do not be so foolish as to 
think that any kind of fire, in this world or the other, 
can purify your soul. Never forget, for a moment, 
that the blood of Jesus Christ alone cleanses from all 
sin. Then, if God permits you to be cast into the fur- 
nace of affliction, "count it all joy," knowing that the 
form of the Fourth will be with you, and that out 
of the furnace you will come at the right moment to 
be promoted to higher honors in the kingdom of 
heaven. 

"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery 
trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing 
happened unto you: but rejoice inasmuch as ye are 
partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory 
shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceed- 
ing joy." 

20 



XVII. 

DANIEL IN THE LION'S DEN. 

" Is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to de- 
liver thee ?" — Daniei, vi, 20. 

ET us transport ourselves in imagination to the 
■^ valley of the Euphrates, and back into antiquity 
twenty-four hundred years. Standing on the hills 
which bound the valley on the west, we look down 
upon the largest city in all the world and in all the 
ages. Descending from the grassy highlands, we 
strike a dusty road, which leads us across a perfectly 
level plain, through crowds of men and animals going 
and coming, till we reach the city wall. 

What a city ! What a wall ! Look up ! From the 
ground where we stand to the top of the parapet the 
distance is three hundred and thirty-five feet. Still 
higher shoot many massive towers, which seem to 
reach the clouds. Directly in our front is a gate-way — 
a huge opening through the wall, flanked and capped 
folded back to let the tides of commerce roll in and out. 
to the columns are doors of brass, with many leaves, 
folded back to let the tides of comerce roll in and out. 
Half a mile to the right, and half a mile to the left, 
you will find another gate just like this. If you walk 
along, parallel with the wall, seven miles in this direc- 
tion, you will pass twelve gates just like this, and 
come to the corner where the wall turns toward the 
east. Turning with the wall, and walking fourteen 
miles, past twenty-five gates, and swimming the river 
306 



Daniel in the Lion's Den. 307 

Euphrates midway, you will come to the second cor- 
ner, where the wall turns toward the north. Follow- 
ing the wall thirty-five miles further, passing sixty-two 
gates, turning two corners, and re-swimming the river, 
you will find yourself at the point where we are now 
standing. 

Resting a moment from our imaginary walk of 
fifty-six miles, we pass through the gate-way into the 
city. We must walk eighty-five feet to get through 
the thickness of the wall. Emerging at length into the 
bright light, we find ourselves in a magnificent ave- 
nue, which stretches before us till its two sides seem 
to come together in an invisible point. All the way 
the avenue is lined with parks and gardens and foun- 
tains and statues and triumphal arches and monu- 
ments and mansions and palaces and temples. 

Six miles from the gate where we entered, we come 
to the loftiest building in the city. It is the Temple 
of Belus, once the Tower of Babel. It rises, in eight 
painted stories, six hundred and six feet high, from a 
platform covering thirty-three acres. On its top is 
a place of worship and an astronomical observatory. 
Up and down the broad stair-case, or inclined plane, 
which winds gradually around the building, we can 
see crowds of visitors going and coming, some on 
foot, others on the backs of horses and mules. 

Half a mile further on we come to a wall and a 
gate. Passing through, we are on a bridge spanning 
the mighty Euphrates. Now we are at the middle. 
Look up and down this "father of waters." For four- 
teen miles it rolls through the city, entering and de- 
parting under enormous arches in the walls. Twin 
walls confine its turbulent tide, each wall pierced with 
twenty-five gateways. Twenty-four of the pairs of 



308 The Wells of Salvation. 

gateways have each two wharves and a ferry. Be- 
neath this bridge there is a tunnel under the river. 
Bridge, tunnel^ wharves, ferries, and river are alive 
with pleasure and business. 

On the river's eastern bank we stand in front of the 
largest palace ever built. Its name is, 'The Admiration 
of Mankind." It is seven miles and a half in circuit. 
It is surrounded by three concentric walls. It has 
many gates of solid brass, some of them so large 
that machinery is required to make them swing on 
their hinges. It contains in its central court the fa- 
mous "hanging-garden," which is written among the 
world's "Seven Wonders." It is filled with splendors 
of architecture and art, which no one can describe who 
has seen them, and which no one can imagine who 
has not. 

But what has all this to do with our text? I will 
tell you. The man who uttered the question of the 
text lives in this palace. He is its owner and lord. 
His name is Darius. In secular history he is called 
Cyaxeres. He is king of the Medes and Persians. 
Only a few months ago his army, under the command 
of Cyrus, his nephew and son-in-law, took this city, 
Babylon, and he ascended its throne as sovereign of 
the world. Almost the entire civilized world acknowl- 
edged his authority. 

That he might the better govern his far-reaching 
domains, Darius divided them into one hundred and 
twenty provinces, with a governor, or satrap, over 
every one. That he might know what the governors 
were doing, and that they might be held to a strict 
account, Darius appointed three men, whom he called 
Presidents, to whom the governors should report, and 
whose orders they should obey. The first and chief of 



Daniel in the Lion's Den 309 

these presidents was Daniel, the Jew, the man who 
had interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dreams and read 
the hand-writing on the wall of Belshazzar's banquet- 
ing-hall. 

Daniel discharged the duties of his high office 
with such consummate wisdom and such absolute 
fidelity and honesty that he won the confidence and 
love of the king, who resolved to advance him to still 
higher honors. But while the king loved him, the 
other presidents and all the governors and politicians 
envied and hated him. At length they laid their heads 
together, and resolved to ruin him. For a long time 
they watched him, and set spies and detectives upon 
his track, that they might discover some act or word 
which they could twist into an accusation against his 
honesty or his ability. But his statesmanship was so 
perfect and his character was so absolutely spotless 
that they could not find the shadow of anything against 
him. 

One day the politicians met to see if they could 
contrive any way to ruin the great statesman. It was 
their unanimous conclusion that his only vulnerable 
point was his religion. Perhaps they could catch him 
there. At length a scheme was concocted. In a body 
they went into the presence of the king, and, with 
hearts and faces full of hypocrisy, told him that "all 
the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the 
princes, the counselors, and the captains" had agreed 
together to request him to enact a royal statute that, 
for the space of thirty days, the king should be the 
only object of worship throughout the wide extent 
of the Medo-Persian realm ; and that whosoever should 
dare to pray to any other God, should be cast into the 
den of lions. 



3 to The Wells of Salvation. 

The king, who was a vain old man, readily con- 
sented, not dreaming what his flatterers really in- 
tended. The blasphemous statute was written out by 
a scribe, and signed and sealed by the king. It was 
now a law, and, according to the constitution of the 
Medes and Persians, could never be repealed or 
changed. 

The conspirators went away in high glee. The 
decree was posted on the palace gate. Daniel paused 
and read it as he came out on his way to his home. 
What did he do? What would you have done if you 
had been in his place? To pray, or not to pray, that 
was the question in the great statesman's mind. To 
pray would be to lose^Jiis position, his honors, his 
wealth, his opportunities to do good, his life. To pray 
would be to be dragged from his mansion, amid the 
scoffs and jeers of his enemies, and to be cast alive 
into a den of hungry lions. To pray would be to lose 
everything. Could not such a man as he was, with 
all the spiritual capital which he had laid up in sixty 
years of communion with God, live thirty days with- 
out prayer? Was he so weak, after more than half a 
century of victorious wrestling with sin and tempta- 
tion, that he could not exist four weeks if he did not 
pray? His instant answer was, "I can not live one 
day without praying morning, noon, and night." At 
that moment the tempter must have injected a very 
subtle suggestion into his mind: "Why can you not 
pray silently in the darkness of your closet, till the 
danger is past? God can see and hear and will be 
satisfied, your enemies will be baffled, and your valu- 
able life will be preserved." The old statesman saw 
the fallacy of Satan's argument. Being accustomed 
to pray in the sight and hearing of others, if he should 



Daniel in the Lion's Den. 311 

pray in silence and darkness he would deny God be- 
fore all the world, and God would cast him off forever. 

His mind was made up. He must continue to pray 
just as he always had. To pray would only be to lose 
his life. Not to pray would be to lose his soul. So, 
turning away from the pillar where the decree was 
posted, he hurried to his house. He went up into his 
chamber. He opened his windows toward the Holy 
City. He dropped on his knees. He poured out his 
soul in audible prayer to the God of his fathers. That 
was in the evening. He prayed in like manner the 
next morning, and again at noon. 

His enemies, the envious politicians, skulking un- 
der his windows, heard him pray. Their delight knew 
no bounds. Now they had the object of their bitterest 
hatred in their power. The next morning they ap- 
peared in full force before the king. "Hast thou not 
signed a decree that every man that shall ask a pe- 
tition of any God or man within thirty days, save of 
thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?" 
"The thing is true," answered the king, "according to 
the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth 
not." "Well," they said, "we have found a man who 
regardeth not thee or thy decree which thou hast 
signed, but prayeth three times a day." 

When the king heard the name of the accused, he 
turned pale and shook with fear. He saw the trap 
into which he had fallen. He blamed himself for his 
folly. He refused to sign the death-warrant of his 
beloved counselor and friend. He angrily drove the 
accusers from his presence. He spent the whole day 
consulting the lawyers and searching the law-books 
to discover some way of evading the decree, and saving 
the life of the best and wisest man in the world. 



312 The Wells of Salvation. 

But he was baffled at every step. Night brought 
the accusers again into his presence, more determined 
than before. They knew they had the law on their 
side, and that the king must yield. They insisted that 
the constitution of the Medo-Persian Empire must be 
maintained, and that the decree must be executed to 
the letter against the man who dared to pray. The 
king could hold out no longer. With the greatest 
reluctance he affixed his name and the great seal of 
the empire to the warrant ordering Daniel to be cast 
into the den of lions. 

In imagination I see a company of men gathered 
in one of the courts of the imperial palace. It is night. 
The flaring flames of many smoking torches reveal 
the rich costumes and savage faces of the politicians 
of Babylon. I also see an old man firmly held in the 
grip of four stout soldiers. Two men, with crow-bars, 
pry up from the pavement a huge marble slab. A 
black hole appears, out of which rise stenchful vapors 
and savage growls. The old man is pushed to the hole. 
Ropes are placed under his arms. He is lifted from 
his feet and dropped into the abyss. The soldiers 
rapidly lower him into the darkness. The burden 
touches bottom. The ropes are shaken out and pulled 
up. The slab is pried back into its place. One of the 
presidents holds a stick of sealing-wax in the flames of 
a torch, till it melts, and then smears the soft paste 
over the crack in the pavement. At the same instant 
he presses against the yielding wax the king's signet- 
ring, making an impression which it is death to 
break. 

Daniel is sealed up in the lion's den, like a corpse 
in a tomb. Let us go down into the den. Stone and 
seal and laws of the Medes and Persians can not 



Daniel in the Lion's Den. 313 

hinder us, for we are phantoms flitting in a by-gone 
age. Here we are. Where are we? We expected to 
be plunged in inky blackness. Instead of that, we 
are in a light so intensely bright that we are com- 
pelled to shade our faces with our hands. As soon 
as we are able to open our dazzled eyes, we look 
around. The place is a subterranean cell, built of 
hard-burned brick. The atmosphere is foul and damp. 
A little fresh air comes in through a grated window. 
The floor is thickly strewn with human bones — thighs, 
and spines and ribs and grinning skulls. In the center 
stands a being in human form, clad in a long, flowing 
robe, so white that, in comparison, the snow which 
covers the Alpine mountain peaks would look gray 
and brown. From face and hands and body and feet 
stream floods of unearthly light. In front stands the 
old statesman and prophet, gazing in rapture at this 
messenger from the presence of the King of heaven. 
Behind, blinking and purring, crouch half a score of 
the largest and most ferocious lions. Ferocious and 
hungry they were. But now they are as gentle as 
kittens or lambs. The left hand of the angel is laid 
on the mouth of the nearest lion. The other is ex- 
tended toward the prophet. 

That night which Daniel spent in the lion's den 
must have been the most blessed and glorious in all 
his life. The consciousness of having done right, the 
manifest approval of his God, and the presence of 
that radiant being, right from the celestial courts, 
must have made the noisome hole, where so many 
wretched men had been torn in pieces and devoured, 
the very vestibule of heaven. 

Who do you think that angel was? I do not know. 
But I think he was the same who wrestled with Jacob 



3H The Wells of Salvation. 

at Jabbok, who led the children of Israel through 
the wilderness, who appeared to Joshua on the plains 
of Jericho, and who walked with the three Hebrews 
in the flames of Nebuchadnezzar's furnace. I be- 
lieve that he was infinitely greater than a mere angel; 
that he was the eternal Son of God, afterward incar- 
nated and named Jesus Christ. What words passed 
between him and Daniel concerning the scheme of 
redemption and the future triumphs of the Church 
you may ask the old prophet, when you meet him ere- 
long on one of the gold-paved avenues of the New 
Jerusalem. 

That night, so blissful to Daniel, was torture to 
the king. Darius could not sleep. He was tormented 
with remorse. His silly vanity had brought ruin and 
death to his wisest counselor and dearest friend. He 
passed the long hours pacing up and down in his 
gilded chamber, beating his breast, tearing his hair, 
and uttering bitter reproaches against himself. The 
alabaster floor seemed to heave and burn under his 
feet. The ivory ceiling seemed to bend and wave as 
though it would fall on his head. The statues and 
paintings of men and beasts, which adorned the walls, 
seemed to be living beings, pointing and scowling 
at him, and crying, "You have murdered your friend." 
If ever there was a heaven on earth, it was the lion's 
den the night it was occupied by Daniel and the 
angel. If ever there was a hell on earth, it was Nebu- 
chadnezzar's palace, the night it was occupied by 
King Darius and his remorseful conscience. 

There was one slender ray of hope to temper the 
blackness of the king's despair. It was possible that 
Daniel's God would save him from the lions. And so 
as soon as the first red-coated outrider, on the top of 



Daniel in the Lion's Den. 315 

the eastern hills, heralded the approach of the king 
of day, the king of Babylon was standing above the 
den. With impatient words he ordered the men to 
pry up the stone. Bending over the hole, he shouted 
down, in tones of anguish and almost despair, "O 
Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom 
thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the 
lions?" For a moment there was no response but 
the echo of the king's voice. Then, in a deep, confi- 
dent, joyful, triumphant swell, these words came back, 
as from the other world: "My God hath sent his angel, 
and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not 
hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was 
found in me ; and also before thee, O king, have I done 
no hurt." 

The king's joy was as great as his sorrow had 
been. At his command, ropes were brought, and 
Daniel was lifted up into the land of the living. The 
same day the lions, which had not opened their mouths 
against the servant of God, breakfasted on the well- 
fattened bodies of the politicians who had plotted his 
destruction. 

In these days of light and liberty, God's people are 
in no danger of being cast into lions' dens, in the 
literal meaning of those words, but they often are 
in a spiritual sense. If you will listen, I will talk to 
you about some of the dens of lions into which the 
holiest men and women have been thrown. The first 
is the den of Temptation. The Bible tells us that the 
devil, the archtempter, "as a roaring lion, walketh 
about seeking whom he may devour." The Chris- 
tian is frequently assailed, not by one devil, but by 
a legion of devils. He is dropped into a dark hole 
strewn with the bones of men naturally as good as he, 



316 The Wells of Salvation. 

whom the same lions, which now glare and snap their 
teeth at him from all sides, have torn in pieces and 
devoured. 

Every man has his peculiar temptations. One is 
tempted to doubt the truth of the Bible and the reality 
of religion. Dr. Edward Payson, one of the holiest 
and most gifted ministers who ever lived, once de- 
clared that Satan had often injected into his mind 
skeptical objections against the truth of the Scrip- 
tures a thousand times more subtle and plausible than 
any which he had ever found in any infidel book. An- 
other is tempted to question God's goodness to him. 
The devil says: "God loves other souls; he does not 
love you. He knows whether you will be saved or 
not. The fact is, there is no salvation for you. It has 
been foreordained that you shall be damned." An- 
other is tempted to lust and passion; another to van- 
ity, or ambition, or avarice, or revenge; another to 
presumption, or spiritual pride, or fanaticism. Still 
another is tempted to throw away eternal life for some 
present good which seems very great. 

We stand above the sealed mouth of a den of lions, 
in which one of God's children is confined, while all 
hell holds jubilee over his supposed destruction. He 
is a young convert, recently saved from the sin of 
drunkenness. The old appetite is subdued, but not 
annihilated. It roars and gnashes its teeth at him, 
like a desertful of hungry lions. To drop the figure 
and speak the simple truth — he is compelled to pass 
the open door of a saloon. A fiend in human shape 
steps out on the sidewalk in front of him, and holds 
out in one hand a glass of whisky, and in the other 
a ten-dollar bill. He can have them both, if he will. 
He is very poor : he needs the money. His old appetite 



Daniel in the Lion's Den. 317 

wakes up at the smell of the liquor; every fiber of 
his body craves the alcohol. Surely the lions of temp- 
tation will devour his soul. Nothing can save him 
from their teeth. 

Be not too hasty in your conclusion. I will un- 
cover the den of this modern Daniel, and see if he is 
alive. "O servant of the living God, is thy God, whom 
thou servest continually, able to deliver thee?" Hear 
his answer: "My God hath sent his angel, and hath 
shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me." 
The plain, prosaic fact about the man is, that he turned 
from the door of the saloon, and walked away without 
touching the whisky. That was almost as great a 
miracle as the one recorded in the Book of Daniel. 
I really believe that if you had been on the street in 
front of that saloon, and had been gifted with super- 
natural sight, you would have seen an angel standing 
between that tempted man and the tempter, between 
the converted drunkard and the rumseller, between 
Daniel and the lions. 

My Christian brother or sister, "is thy God, whom 
thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the 
lions" of temptation, whatever thy peculiar tempta- 
tion may be? I trust that your experience and faith 
are such that you can confidently and triumphantly 
answer, "My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut 
the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me." 

Another den of lions, into which the Christian 
may be cast, is Affliction. It is a black and noisome 
hole, of which no one can think without a shudder. 
In the darkness the servant of God sees the fiery eyes 
of many fierce and hungry lions glaring at him, as 
they crouch to spring at his throat. There is the lion 
of bereavement — the loss, by death, of a friend dearer 



318 The Wells of Salvation. 

than life itself. There is the lion of financial disaster — 
the wrecking of a fortune and the incoming of desti- 
tution and beggary. There is the gaunt and staring 
lion of sickness — every breath a groan, and life an 
intolerable burden. There is the lion of slander and 
misrepresentation — a reputation ruined and a good 
name unjustly spattered with mud and slime. Were 
you ever in such a place? 

I knew a tender woman who was cast into the 
den of lions. Three beautiful children went in quick 
succession to the grave. Her husband, a good, kind, 
loving man, on whose strong arm she delighted to 
lean, went out to his work one morning. He had to 
cross a railroad track a few rods from the dwelling. 
In some way he was surprised and killed by a pass- 
ing train. Before the parting kiss was dry on the 
woman's cheek, his mangled remains were brought 
into the house. In a moment her "soul" was "among 
lions." Did they tear her in pieces and devour her? 
Was she utterly crushed? Did her reason give way? 
Was she insane with grief? Did she rebel against 
Divine providence? Did she charge God with cruelty 
and injustice? No. Her spirit was sweet as heaven. 
Her resignation was perfect. Her grief was as sharp 
as death; but she smiled through her tears, and de- 
clared that God was just and good, that he was still 
her kind, loving, Heavenly Father. Had you been 
present that morning, and said to her, "O servant of 
the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest con- 
tinually, able to deliver thee?" her instant answer 
would have been, "My God hath sent his angel, and 
hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt 
me." Because the angel of the covenant was with 
her, standing between her and the lions, and making 



Daniel in the Lion's Den 319 

it light all about her, that day of awful bereavement 
was one of the most glorious days in all her life. 

To all in this congregation whose souls have ever 
been among the lions of sorrow and affliction, I put 
the question of Darius to Daniel, "Is thy God, whom 
thou servest continually, able to deliver thee?" 

Death is a den of lions. We must all be cast into 
that den. How terrific death is to the soul who con- 
fronts it unprepared. For an unconverted man to 
face death, in the full use of his senses, and not be over- 
whelmed with terror, is simply impossible. I saw an 
old man in the article of death. He had served God 
long and faithfully, and had turned many sinners to 
righteousness. Now the time had come to test the 
doctrines which he had preached to others. His soul 
w T as among lions. His chamber was their den. He 
was in extreme physical suffering, amounting to an 
agony of torture. And yet, in the brief interval be- 
tween the paroxysms of pain, he was shouting aloud 
for joy; he was too happy to contain himself. I bent 
above him and said, "O servant of the living God, is 
thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to de- 
liver thee?" With a smile of holy rapture on his face, 
he exclaimed, "My God hath sent his angel, and hath 
shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me!" 
He died. But, dying, he triumphed over death. To 
him death had no sting. 

In imagination I see a martyr on his way to the 
stake. His imprisonment has been long and bitter. 
His examinations by the inquisitors have been many 
and excruciating. All the tortures which human in- 
genuity could invent, short of death, have been in- 
flicted upon him. Now he is to go up in a chariot of 
fire. The streets, along which he is conducted, and the 



320 The Wells of Salvation. 

housetops above, swarm with thousands of spectators, 
who hurl insults at his head, and the vilest words of 
hatred and reproach. He can not hear one friendly 
voice. He can not see one friendly face. 

The grand square in the center of the city is 
reached. He is bound to a post with an iron chain. 
The faggots are heaped about him. The torch is ap- 
plied. The angry flames leap toward the sky, while 
the mob shout in devilish glee. Surely his soul is 
among lions. But do they harm him? Look at his 
face. It wears an expression of ecstatic joy. He seems 
not to feel the fire which is consuming his flesh. Go 
as near as the flames and smoke will permit, and speak 
to him, "O servant of the living God, is thy God, 
whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee?" 
He turns his face, glowing with celestial light, and 
answers, "My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut 
the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me." If 
God should open your eyes, as he did the eyes of 
Elisha's servant, you would see angels all about the 
martyr, sustaining his soul, and making him insensible 
to pain. The flames are permitted to destroy his body; 
but the angels bear his soul to the paradise of God. 
Though his enemies are permitted to take his life, the 
angel of God protects him as really as he did Daniel 
in the den of lions at Babylon. 

If you would have the angel of God stand between 
you and the lions of temptation, sorrow, and death, 
and shut their mouths so that they can do you no 
harm, two things are necessary : First, you must serve 
God continually. Darius said to Daniel, "Is thy God, 
whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee?" 
You must serve God continually. Your religion 
must be an every-day matter, if you would have it 



D AX I EL IN THE LlOJV'S DEN. 32 1 

do you any good in times of trial, disaster, and dis- 
solution. The man who endures fierce temptation is 
the man who walks close with God when the skies 
are bright. The man who bears up under overwhelm- 
ing sorrow is the man who watches and prays and 
performs every duty when the times are prosperous. 
The man who dies well is the man who has lived well. 
Because Daniel served God in the palace and the coun- 
cil-chamber, God's angel was with him in the den of 
lions. If Daniel had been a corrupt politician, no 
amount of praying would have saved him from the 
teeth of the lions. 

Second, if you would be delivered from the lions, 
you must, like Daniel, believe in your God. The in- 
spired narrative says: "So Daniel was taken up out 
of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon 
him, because he believed in his God." It was faith 
that saved him, as says the Book of Hebrews: "Who, 
through faith, stopped the mouths of lions." Faith 
in God will save you in the hour of fierce temptation, 
when the lions of passion and appetite and ambition 
and skepticism are all about you. Faith in God will 
save you in the hour of sorrow, when the lions of ad- 
versity are ready to tear you in pieces. Faith in God 
will save you in that solemn final hour, when the 
strong lions of death roar at you out of the awful 
darkness of the tomb. Then the angel of the Lord 
will be with you; "at evening-time it shall be light;" 
and the evening of time shall melt away into the 
morning of eternity. 

" Lord, give us such a faith as this, 
And then, whate'er may come, 
We'll taste, e'en here, the hallowed bliss 
Of an eternal home." 
21 



XVIII. 

THE TENTH EOR GOD. 

" Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there 
ma}' be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, 
saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows 
of Heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not 
be room enough to receive it." — Malachi hi, io. 

'""THESE are the words of God to Israel through 
* Malachi. Malachi walked with God about four 
hundred years before the birth of Christ. He was on 
such intimate terms with the Great King that the 
secrets of heaven were revealed to him. He was a 
prophet. He was the last who prophesied under the 
Old Testament dispensation. In the time of his proph- 
ecy the Jews had returned from the seventy years of 
captivity in Babylonia, and were dwelling in the land 
which God had given to their fathers. They were in 
the enjoyment of personal and religious liberty. They 
were no longer slaves; and they could worship God 
according to the dictates of their own consciences in 
their own temple, which had been rebuilt on the very 
spot where it had formerly stood. But they were very 
far from being prosperous and happy. The times were 
very calamitous. Their national independence was 
gone. Heathen kings were their masters. They were 
hated and persecuted by the pagan tribes who dwelt 
around them. The soil which they tilled yielded a 
scanty return for their labor. The grapes withered 
upon the vines before they were ripe. Locusts de- 
voured the grain in their fields. Drought destroyed 
322 



The Tenth for God. 323 

the herbage on which their flocks and herds depended, 
and dried up their fountains and wells; and famine, 
gaunt and bony, ever stared them in the face. Their 
condition was worse, in many respects, than when 
they were captives in Babylon. For then they had 
plenty to eat and drink; and many of them were rich 
in silver and gold. Now they suffered the want of all 
things; and life seemed a heavy burden, instead of a 
joy and a blessing. 

Amid these circumstances, their hearts and mouths 
were filled with murmuring and bitter complaints. 
They kept saying to themselves and to each other: 
''It does not pay to serve the Lord. There is no good 
in fasting and prayer. The wicked fare better than 
the righteous. The idolatrous heathen are more pros- 
perous than we. If there is a God in heaven, why 
does he permit us to suffer such afflictions?" They did 
not seem to know why they were weak and poor and 
despised and afflicted, instead of being strong and rich 
and honored and prosperous. And yet there was a 
reason which they might have easily discovered. Mal- 
achi saw what was the cause of all the trouble under 
which his countrymen were groaning and grumbling, 
and made it known to them in plain and honest words. 
He said: "It is your own fault that all these afflictions 
have come upon you. Ye have turned your backs on 
God; and therefore he has turned his back on you. 
Ye have robbed God, even this whole nation. Ye say, 
'How have we robbed God?' I will tell you. Ye have 
withheld the tithes which the law of Moses commanded 
to be paid into the treasury of the Lord. Therefore 
ye are cursed with a curse. As long as ye withhold 
the tithes, God will withhold the rain, and will send 
locusts, mildew, and blight. Return unto the Lord, 



324 The Wells of Salvation. 

and he will return unto you. 'Bring ye all the tithes 
into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my 
house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord 
of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, 
and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be 
room enough to receive it.' " 

There was a rigid law in Israel that every man 
should give one-tenth of his income, from all sources, 
each year, to the Lord, for the support of the Church. 
If, when the tithing season came, a man found that 
he had raised one hundred bushels of wheat, he had to 
measure out ten bushels, and carry or send it up to 
the temple of the Lord. He must do the same for all 
his grain and fruit. At the same time he would shut 
up in a pen all the cattle, sheep, goats, and other clean 
animals born on his land during the year, or obtained 
by purchase, and, then, while one of his servants drove 
them through a narrow gate, one by one, he would 
touch every tenth creature with a rod dipped in red 
paint. Every ox, cow, calf, sheep, lamb, goat, or kid 
which bore the red spot belonged to God. According 
to the same rule, I suppose, one-tenth of the money 
which came into any man's hands, in the course of 
the year, was put into the Lord's treasury in the 
temple. 

We should consider ourselves greatly oppressed 
if we had to give over to the Church every tenth dol- 
lar which came into our hands. But that is just what 
God required of his ancient people; and whenever they 
failed to keep this law, he called them robbers, and 
punished them as such. The Jews in Malachi's time, 
having lately returned from exile and being very poor, 
thought they could not afford to give so much to the 
Church. So, for the sake of economy, they withheld 



The Tenth for God. 325 

the tithes of their increase. You know the result. 
After years of bitter experience, they learned — what 
all who make the trial will learn, at last — that it does 
not pay to rob God. 

The text before us is commonly understood and 
used in a spiritual sense. It may thus be used right- 
fully. But it ought to be taken literally. It means, 
just what it says. If all Christians would give one- 
tenth of their incomes to the Church, they would have 
greater spiritual and temporal prosperity, the Lord's 
treasury would be running-over full, infidelity would 
be put to shame, the gospel would advance with rapid 
strides, and the world would soon be converted to 
Christ. 

Every Christian believes that he ought to give 
some portion of his income to God, for the support 
of his Church. To each one of us, when we joined 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, this question was 
put, in the hearing of God and the congregation: "Will 
you contribute of your earthly substance, according 
to your ability, to the support of the gospel and the 
various benevolent enterprises of the Church?" We 
solemnly answered, "I will." That vow is registered 
in heaven; and we must keep it, or lose our souls. 
It is as impossible for a man to gain heaven without 
giving a portion of his money into the treasury of the 
Church, as to be saved without prayer or keeping 
the Ten Commandments. In saying this I merely; 
affirm what you all believe and admit. 

But what shall be the law of our giving? Our text' 
contains the law: "Bring ye all the tithes into the 
storehouse." I maintain that the law of tithing is still 
binding on the people of God. But you say: "The law 
of tithing was a Jewish enactment, and is done away 



326 The Wells of Salvation. 

in Christ." You are mistaken. The law of tithing 
is older, by many centuries, than Judaism. When 
Abraham was returning- from the slaughter of the 
kings, laden with the spoils of victory, he was met by 
Melchisedec, king and priest of Salem, who brought 
bread and wine for him and his men, and blessed him 
in the name of God. Then Abraham gave Melchisedec 
one-tenth of all the plunder he had taken from the 
kings. Who this Melchisedec was, we do not know. It 
is probable, however, that hewasShem the son of Noah, 
the progenitor, and therefore the high priest of that 
one of the three divisions of the human family. It was 
certain that Shem was alive at that time, and, accord- 
ing to the constitution of the Patriarchal system, must 
have been the head and priest of all his descendants. 
Abraham paid tithes to God through his representa- 
tive, Melchisedec, thus acknowledging the law of the 
tenth to be of Divine appointment. 

Coming down the stream of time one hundred and 
seventy years, we overtake Abraham's grandson, 
Jacob, fleeing from his brother Esau to Padan-aram 
Near the little city of Luz he falls asleep on the ground, 
with a stone for his pillow, and dreams of a ladder 
with angels ascending and descending. Waking in 
the morning, he exclaims: ''Surely the Lord is in this 
place; and I knew it not. This is the house of God and 
the gate of heaven." Having named the place Bethel, 
which means the House of God, he vowed that he 
would be a servant of God henceforth, and added: "Of 
all that thou shalt give me,I will surely give the tenth 
unto thee." Jacob evidently thought that he could 
not be a real servant of God, or, as we would say, a 
Christian, without giving one-tenth of his income to 
the service of Jehovah. Just how he expended his 



The Tenth for God. 327 

tenth for God's service, we do not know. But that he 
did tithe his income as long as he lived, we are sure. 

When God founded the Jewish Church and nation 
he re-enacted the ancient law of tithing, and made 
it binding on all the children of Israel, saying, as re- 
corded in Leviticus xxvii, 30: "All the tithe of the 
land, whether of the seed of the land, or the fruit of 
the tree, is the Lord's; it is holy unto the Lord." You 
will observe that God did not say the tithe shall be the 
Lord's, but is the Lord's. If the law of the tenth had 
then been enacted for the first time, the language 
would have been shall be, instead of is. 

Jesus Christ, who came to fulfill the law, did not 
repeal the law of the tenth, but admitted its binding 
force when he said to the Pharisees: "Ye tithe mint 
and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judg- 
ment and the love of God; these ought ye to have done, 
and not to leave the other undone." When the Great 
Teacher said "and not to leave the other undone," he 
said, in effect, "Ye ought to pay tithes of all ye pos- 
sess." Everything that was merely Jewish, Christ 
abolished when he introduced the New Dispensation. 
But tithing was not merely Jewish; therefore tithing 
has not been abolished, but is one of the laws of the 
Christian Church. "Bring ye all the tithes into the 
storehouse," is God's command to every one of us. 

But even if we were to admit that tithing is not 
binding upon us as a law, no one can deny that it 
would be safe and wise for us to impose it upon our- 
selves as a voluntary rule of Christian beneficence. 
Whether it be a law or not, it is the only rule which 
God ever gave on this subject. What man, or set of 
men, could devise a better? Because the God of all 
grace, who commanded the Patriarchal and Jewish 



328 The Wells of Salvation. 

Churches to pay the tenth, leaves us free to make our 
own rule of proportionate giving, shall we take ad- 
vantage of him by giving less than Abraham, Jacob, 
and the Pharisees? Our blessings and privileges are 
so much greater than those of the Jews, and there is 
so much more need of money in carrying on the work 
of evangelizing the world than in merely supporting 
the temple service at Jerusalem, that we ought to give 
more, rather than less, than those who lived before 
the birth of Christ. Either as a law, equally binding 
with the Ten Commandments, or as a rule of Chris- 
tian expediency, we ought to accept the giving of the 
tenth as our rule of practice. 

Begin at once. Count what money you have on 
hand, and put aside one-tenth of it. Add to this store 
one-tenth of all you receive from day to day, and draw 
from it as demands are made upon you for aid in be- 
half of benevolence and Christian work. Have a 
drawer, or box, or purse, which shall be called "the 
Lord's." Into it put one-tenth of your net income 
from all sources, as it is received. Regard that tenth 
as belonging to God in such an absolute sense that 
to use it for yourself would be robbery as truly as 
though you should take it from the pocket of your 
neighbor. 

Do you ask, "What is my net income?" If you 
are a farmer, your net income is all the money you 
receive for the products of your farm, the cash value 
of all your family consumes, and also the fair cash' 
value of all you obtain by barter or exchange. From 
this total amount, before taking out the Lord's tenth- 
you may deduct all money paid for hired help and 
taxes, and also for interest on mortgages and other 
incumbrances. You may also deduct the cost of re- 



The Tenth for God. 329 

pairs on buildings and the cost of tools needed in 
working your farm. If your land and stock increase 
in value, take no account of such increase at the time, 
but when you sell them tithe the increase above the 
amount originally paid. If you are a professional man, 
or a day laborer, put into the Lord's box, whenever 
you receive any money for your services, one-tenth of 
the amount. It is difficult to give rules for every 
possible case; but if you honestly intend to observe 
the law of the tenth, you will have no serious trouble 
in determining what to do. 

"If I am in debt," some one says, "shall I not pay 
my debts before tithing my income?" By no means. 
Your tithe is the most sacred debt you could possibly 
owe. Remember, that one-tenth of your income be- 
longs to God, and you must not use it to pay your 
debts to man. Under such a rule as that, all a man 
would have to do, to escape paying the tenth to God, 
would be to get in debt to man, and keep in debt. 
Many other questions might be asked. "Should I 
ever give more than one-tenth?" Yes, when you can 
afford to do so. Giving begins when the tenth has 
been paid. What you give over and above the tenth 
will be a "free-will-offering." The poor man should 
pay the tenth. The rich man should give beyond the 
tenth. "What if it takes all I get to support my family; 
shall I pay the tenth to God?" Yes, for two reasons: 
first, because the tenth belongs to God; and, second, 
because — strange as it may seem — the remaining nine-, 
tenths will go further than the ten-tenths. If you doj 
not believe that last statement, look at the text, and 1 
read again the history of the Jews in the days of Mala- 
chi. While they withheld the tenth, because they were 
poor and seemed to need all they had to live on, they 



330 The Wells of Salvation. 

almost starved. But God told them that, if they would 
pay him the tenth, they would have left more than they 
could use. Malachi's God is our God. 

It would do us all good, at this point, to listen 
to some of God's words about giving. "Blessed is 
he that considereth the poor; the Lord will deliver 
him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him 
and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the 
earth; and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of 
his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him on the bed 
of languishing; thou wilt make his bed in his sick- 
ness." 'Trust in the Lord and do good, so shalt thou 
dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed." 
"Honor the Lord with thy substance and with the 
first fruits of all thine increase, so shall thy barns be 
filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with 
new wine." "There is that scattereth and yet in- 
creaseth; there is that withholdeth more than is meet, 
but it tendeth to poverty. The liberal soul shall be 
made fat, and he that watereth shall be watered also 
himself." "And if thou draw out thy soul to the 
hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul, then shall thy 
light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the 
noonday; and the Lord shall guide thee continually, 
and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy 
bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and 
like a spring of water whose waters fail not." "Give 
and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed 
down, shaken together, and running over shall men 
give into your bosom. For with the same measure 
ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." 
"I have showed you all things, how that so laboring 
ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the 
words of the Lord Jesus how he said, It is more 



The Tenth for God. 331 

blessed to give than to receive." "Every man as he 
purposeth in his heart, so let him give ; not grudgingly 
or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver." 
When King James's translators came to this verse, 
they did not dare to give to the original of the word 
cheerful its exact meaning. It really means hilarious. 
A hilarious man is one who throws his cap into the 
air, and swings his arms and jumps up and down with 
delight. That is the way you ought to feel whenever 
you see the contribution-box coming toward you. 
Not that you should actually do that, for you would 
disturb the meeting; but you ought to feel like doing 
it whenever you have an opportunity, and the ability, 
to contribute to any good cause. Remember, "the 
Lord loveth a hilarious giver." "And God is able to 
make all grace [the word 'grace' here refers to tem- 
poral blessings] abound toward you; that ye, always 
having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to 
every good work." 

Let us look at some of the results of giving, or 
paying, the tenth. The first which strikes our minds 
is the wonderful increase in the funds which the 
Church would have to use in carrying on the work 
of saving the world. Government officials estimate 
the average daily income of each man, woman, and 
child in the United States at fifty-five cents. Every 
one who stops to think, will agree that Methodists 
would average more than that; but we will be on the 
safe side, and accept the Government estimate. Now 
there are 2,766,656 communicants in the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. Five and one-half cents from each, 
per day, is one-tenth of the daily income. Multiplying 
this by the number of days in the year, we have over 
$20 as one-tenth of the annual income of each. Multi- 



332 The Wells of Salvation. 

plying this by 2,766,656, we have $55,333,120 as one- 
tenth of the annual income of the members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. How much do they 
give? They give, all told, for the support of pastors 
and Conference claimants, home and foreign mission- 
aries, for building, improving, and insuring churches 
and parsonages, for current expenses, and for all the 
benevolences about $23,000,000 annually. That is, if 
all our members would observe the ancient Divine 
law of tithing, our Church would contribute to the 
cause of the world's salvation nearly two and a half 
times as much as she now does. She would give for 
missions four million dollars a year; for building new 
churches half a million dollars; and for educating the 
blacks and poor whites of the South another half 
million. 

Let us see how it would be in Corning District. 
We have 9,064 members and probationers. If every 
one of these would give a tenth, we should raise an- 
nually $181,280. What do we raise for all purposes? 
About $70,000. That is, if every Methodist on Corn- 
ing District would observe the law of tithing, the dis- 
trict would raise nearly three times as much as it does. 

Let us apply this reckoning to a single pastoral 
charge. Take one of the weakest in the whole district. 
I will not call it by name. I do not mention it to find 
fault. It does as much, in proportion to its ability, 
as any other charge. With great difficulty, it pays a 
salary of $300 to its pastor, and raises about $50 for all 
the benevolences. It has a membership of sixty. If 
their average income be taken to be the same as that 
of the entire nation (and I am sure it is not less) that 
charge, which now feels compelled to pinch its pastor 
down to a salary of $300, could pay him $800, and 



The Tenth for God. 333 

have four hundred left for running expenses and de- 
nominational benevolences, if only they would adopt, 
and carry out, the Bible law of the tenth for God. 

How mightily the work of God would advance 
in these regions if every Methodist would follow the 
example of Abraham, Jacob, and the primtive Chris- 
tians; if every Methodist would believe, and obey, our 
text ! No more poorly-paid ministers ! No more aban- 
doned churches! No more spiritually destitute neigh- 
borhoods! No more Boards of Stewards distracted 
over Church finances! No more heart-rending ap- 
peals to public congregations for funds to carry on 
God's work! No more oyster suppers, Church fairs, 
and broom-drills to raise money for God! Every pas- 
tor would have an ample salary; every Church treasury 
would be filled to overflowing; the Bride of Christ 
would stand unabashed before the world ; and the gos- 
pel would spread through all these States and counties 
like fire in the dry grass of a Western prairie. Money 
alone will not save the world; but the world can not 
be saved without money. When all Christians learn 
to consecrate a tenth of their substance to God, the 
eastern skies will be growing red with the dawning 
of the Millennial Day. 

Another result of tithing would be the death of 
covetousness. Covetousness is the giant sin of the 
age; it is the chief sin of the Church. There is noth- 
ing else which so gnaws into and consumes its spirit- 
uality. There is hardly any other sin at which the 
Word of God thunders so loudly. It puts covetous- 
ness in the same dark catalogue with uncleanness, 
fornication, and idolatry, and says: "Let no man de- 
ceive you with vain words; for because of these things 
cometh the wrath of God on the children of disobedi- 



334 The Wells of Salvatlon. 

ence." I believe that covetousness will drag down 
more souls to hell from the Churches than any other 
one sin. Covetousness is not so rare a sin as many 
may think. Covetous men may be found in all our 
congregations. Are we lacking in charity if we say 
that a farmer, living in a three-thousand-dollar house, 
on a hundred-acre farm, with no debts and money in 
the bank, but giving only five dollars a year for the 
pastor's salary and fifty cents for missions, is guilty 
of the sin of covetousness? A pastor, not a thousand 
miles from here, preached a missionary sermon, one 
Sunday morning, to a large congregation of well- 
dressed people, in a rich farming community, and 
then took a collection for the cause of the world's sal- 
vation amounting to seventy-five cents. Were there 
any covetous persons in that Church? If we could 
make all our people believe that one-tenth of their in- 
come belongs wholly to God, and must be spent wholly 
in carrying on his work, a death-blow would be given 
to the monster Covetousness. 

We are considering the results of paying the tenth 
to God. The chief result is stated in the text. "Bring 
ye all the tithes into the storehouse." That means 
set apart one-tenth of your net income for God. "That 
there may be meat in mine house." That means that 
God's Church may be supported, and the gospel be 
preached to all mankind. "And prove me now here- 
with, saith the Lord of hosts." That means put God 
to the test by tithing your income for his cause, and see 
if he will not keep his promise, and bless you with all 
needed temporal and spiritual gifts. "If I will not 
open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a 
blessing that there shall not be room enough to re- 



The Tenth for God. 335 

ceive it." That means that great temporal prosperity, 
and, by inference, great spiritual blessings, will surely 
follow the tithing of our income for God. The text 
is so plain that it is difficult to say anything which can 
make it plainer. It means exactly what it says. If, 
out of a heart of love, we pay the tenth, we shall pros- 
per financially and spiritually. The text means that 
if you consecrate one-tenth of your income to God's 
cause, and touch not a cent of it for yourself, but live 
upon what remains, the nine-tenths will go farther 
than the ten-tenths. 

If your income is five hundred dollars a year, and 
you spend fifty dollars for the support of the gospel in 
your own community, and for the conversion of the 
heathen, and for the evangelization of the benighted 
parts of the home-land, the four hundred and fifty dol- 
lars, which you will have left, will go farther, in the 
purchase of food and clothing, than the five hundred 
dollars would have, if you had kept the whole. Do 
you doubt that? Then you do not believe God speak- 
ing in the text. You think you can not afford to give 
God one-tenth of your income. Some men seem to 
think they can not afford to give one-seventh of their 
time; and so they work seven days in the week, in 
spite of the Fourth Commandment. In the long run, 
any man can do more mental or physical labor in six 
days than in seven. Thousands and tens of thousands 
have proved, by a long experience, that nine dollars 
are worth more to them than ten dollars. If you ask, 
"How can that be?" I answer, We can not tell; but 
we know that when we try to rob God, he has ten 
thousand ways in which he can outwit us, and add to 
our expenses, and subtract from our income and our 



336 The Wells of Salvation. 

power to make and save. It is enough for us to know 
that God commands us to give him the tenth of our 
money and the seventh of our time, and promises that 
he will so bless us that the nine and the six will exceed 
in value the ten and the seven. 

Much like the text are the words of Jesus: "Seek 
ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and 
all these things shall be added unto you." Can any 
one tell how, by putting religion first and business 
afterward, business will be made to prosper better 
than by reversing the order? But so it is. Can any 
one explain the how of the Divine words: "There is 
that scattereth and yet increaseth?" But so it is. Can 
any one tell exactly why "it is more blessed to give 
than to receive?" But so it is. If you would succeed 
in worldly business, give your tenth to God. If the 
text does not mean that, it has no meaning at all. 

I firmly believe that the widespread financial de- 
pression of these times is a punishment on our people, 
because, while their wealth has so marvelously in- 
creased, their gifts to God's cause have not increased 
in due proportion; because they have not brought all 
the tithes into God's storehouse. If the times are 
hard with you, "Bring ye all the tithes into the store- 
house," and see if God "will not open the windows 
of heaven and pour you out a blessing there shall not 
be room enough to receive it." Many of you com- 
plain bitterly of poverty. You deserve to be poor, 
and are poor, because you do not bring all the tithes 
into the storehouse. You sing and pray and try to 
consecrate yourself to God ; but you do not bring your 
tithes — the tenth of your income — into the storehouse. 
You spiritualize the text until it means nothing; and 



The Tenth for God. 337 

no blessing comes. Take it just as it reads; do just 
as it says; accept God's challenge; put him to the test; 
and see if he will not open the windows of heaven 
and pour you out a financial blessing greater than you 
ever received. 

While, doubtless, the text is to be taken literally, 
as referring to temporal blessings, it also has a spirit- 
ual application. As, on the day of Pentecost, God 
opened the windows of heaven and poured out the 
Holy Spirit upon the Church at Jerusalem, so he is 
waiting to bless every one of us. Again and again 
we have sought the blessing, and have not received it. 
Why? One reason, I believe, is that we have with- 
held the tithes of our money. We have consecrated 
almost everything else; but have kept back the tenth 
of our income. We have given something to pay the 
pastor, and to meet the apportionments for Church 
benevolences; we think we have given liberally. But 
we have given spasmodically, without system, spar- 
ingly. We have given as we happened to feel at the 
time. W r e have given what we happened to have when 
the appeal was made. God commands us to give 
from principle, with system, freely. He commands 
us to give, or pay, him the tenth. Because we have 
disobeyed this law, we have not received the baptism 
of the Holy Ghost. If the Church on Corning Dis- 
trict would walk up to God's altar, and lay upon it her 
pocket-book, there would come such an outpouring 
of the Holy Spirit on all our congregations as we have 
hardly dared to dream of; and thousands on thou- 
sands would be soundly converted to God within the 
next six months. 

The way to get a pentecostal blessing is as simple 



338 The Wells of Salvation. 

as "two times two make four." "Bring ye all the 
tithes" — the tithes of money, the tenth of your in- 
come — "into the storehouse, and prove me now here- 
with, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the 
windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that 
there shall not be room enough to receive it." 



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